New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to interrogate a Customs official from Visakhapatnam, Namarla Satyanarayana, also known as Namala Satyanarayana, for allegedly using forged birth and Scheduled Tribe certificates to secure a government job nearly 30 years ago. The official, who joined the Customs Department in 1986, faces serious charges including forgery, cheating, and criminal misconduct, along with violations under Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The allegations came to light following a complaint from a superior officer who reported that Satyanarayana maintained a dual identity. According to the complaint, he obtained two Class 10 certificates from different schools, each displaying varying names and indicating different years of completion—one as 1980 and the other as 1982.
At the time of the complaint, Satyanarayana was serving as the Assistant Commissioner at the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in Chennai. The complaint was filed in January this year by Neelam Sreedhar, Principal Commissioner at the Customs House in Visakhapatnam.
CBI sources indicated that the investigation would involve scrutinizing records from both schools from which Satyanarayana claimed to have obtained his Class 10 certificates. Preliminary findings by a CBI investigator revealed that he allegedly secured a forged Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate by altering his surname from Namala to Namarla. This ST caste certificate was then used to obtain a second Class 10 certificate from St. Ann’s School in Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam, in 1982.
The complaint detailed that, according to one certificate, Satyanarayana studied at St. Peter High School in Gnanapuram, Visakhapatnam, from 1971 to 1980, where he recorded his caste as BC-A (Dasari) and subsequently obtained a Class 10 certificate under the name Namala Satyanarayana in 1980.
A senior CBI official, while recommending the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), stated, “The complaint prima facie discloses that Namarla Satyanarayana @ Namala Satyanarayana committed offences punishable under Section 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code; Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947; and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.”
The investigation underscores the CBI’s commitment to addressing corruption within public services, as they prepare to question Satyanarayana regarding the allegations and the validity of the documents he used to secure his position.