Title - Three held for forging signatures of senior railway officials

GRP today arrested three persons, including a railway clerk, for allegedly forging signatures of two senior railway officials to facilitate loan to a businessman.

Sampath Kumar, realtor Bommanaboina Nagaraju, who hails from Guntur, and advocate Keshava Kumar were arrested, a senior GRP officer said.

Two other railway staffers -- Shaikh Abu Bakr Siddique and Shaikh Subhani -- suspected to be accomplices of Kumar, are absconding, SP, GRP, Syam Prasad said.

The officials, whose signatures were forged to show them as willing party to issue collateral securities to Chunduri Ashok Rao from Krishna district, are Divisional Railway Manager Pradeep Kumar and senior Divisional Personnel Officer Jayashankar, he said.

The SP said Rao had approached a Jalandhar-based business finance company for Rs 45 lakh loan and was told to get collateral securities from two government employees in higher salary bracket.

According to the officer, Nagaraju charged Rs 2 lakh as "commission" from Rao to secure the documents and roped in Kumar, a clerk in the personnel department here.

Kumar, apparently with the help of his two colleagues who are absconding, prepared forged salary certificates of the officers as asked by the company, the SP said.

"These documents were attested by advocate-notary N Keshava Kumar," Prasad said.

He said the company detected the forgery and lodged complaint with GRP, Vijaywada.

The SP said police were investigating the role of Rao and looking for Siddique and Subhani.

Police suspect that railway employees--Kumar, Siddique and Subhani--are part of a racket and were involved in forging documents for pecuniary gains in the past also.