The Special Task Force of Madhya Pradesh has arrested former Air Force Wing commander Kuldeep Vaghela for posing as Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and asking Madhya Pradesh Governor, Lalji Tandon to appoint his friend as the vice-chancellor of a university, Additional Director General of Police Ashok Awasthi said.
In an effort to help his friend get the vice-chancellor's post of a university, Wing Commander Kuldeep Vaghela, who had worked in the Raj Bhavan before, impersonated the Union Home Minister and called the governor over the phone.
Vaghela's friend Kumar Shukla posing as Amit Shah's personal assistant contacted the staff at Raj Bhavan and asked to be connected to the governor. After the Governor took over the conversation, Vaghela posing as Amit Shah asked him to consider Shukla for the Vice-Chancellor's post.
The sources in Madhya Pradesh Police stated that a notification for selection to the V-C 's post of Madhya Pradesh Medical Sciences University, Jabalpur was issued by the Raj Bhavan on July 29, 2019. Responding to the notification, Shukla had interviewed for the job on January 3.
Meanwhile, after the interview, he managed to have his name recommended through many politicians. To finalise his name for the post, Shukla made another attempt by approaching his old friend Wing Commander Kuldeep Vaghela currently posted at New Delhi Air Force Headquarters.
After the phone call got over, the governor got suspicious and contacted the Home Minister's office to verify the caller's identity. On further inquiry, it was found that no such call was made from the Home Minister's office, and subsequently, the Special Task Force was called to inquire into the matter.
After the required probe, the STF arrested Vaghela from Delhi and Shukla from Bhopal.
The accused Wing Commander Kuldeep Vaghela was an aide to a former governor in Madhya Pradesh at Raj Bhavan in 2014 and was familiar with its fuctioning., ADG Awasthi said.
