Teaching appointments at the NDA are through the UPSC, which calls for applications through ad

Highlights National Defence Academy trains cadets for the Indian military

Principal and some teachers charged with corruption in appointments

CBI searched their offices and homes in Pune

The National Defence Academy (NDA), which trains thousands of cadets for the Indian military each year, is caught in a massive scandal. The principal and some teachers of the academy's branch in Pune's Khadakwasla were charged by the CBI today with corruption in appointments.Om Prakash Shukla, the principal, has been charged along with professors of political science, chemistry and math, with criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.The CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation also searched their offices and homes in Pune.Dr Shukla, one of the senior most NDA professors in the country, has been principal of the institute since 2011. The alleged corruption in appointments started way back in 2007, when he applied for the post of professor, officials believe.According to investigators, these teachers were involved in fudging the API or Academic Performance Indicators (a measure of academic record) of candidates who were not qualified to be professors at the institute. Teachers were allegedly selected without the years of experience required by the defence ministry, and certificates and documents were forged, the CBI says.Teachers are appointed to the prestigious academy through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).The accused principal and professors allegedly sent less than qualified candidates to the UPSC for approval.The CBI's formal complaint reveals that the agency believes Dr Shukla lied about his own credentials while applying for a post in the NDA.

"Dr Om Prakash Shukla falsely claimed exaggerated experience of teaching and research in his applications to UPSC for the post of Professor in NDA in 2007 and for the post of principal in 2011," the CBI says."The false and exaggerated teaching experience claimed by Dr Shukla was not verified by the (defence ministry) before he was appointed," the complaint says.