M A I N   N E W S

Fake-job racket unearthed
Varinder walia
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 3
A racket of fake appointments in the Health Department has come to light.

While the Ajnala police has registered an FIR against one of the ‘beneficiaries’ the Tarn Taran police is still probing the matter.

Though the civil surgeon is not competent to appoint clerks, yet appointment letters were issued to them under ‘forged signatures’. Interestingly, the format of the fake appointment letters is similar to the official one.

The connivance of officials of the Health Department cannot be ruled out even as the FIR was lodged on behalf of Dr Rajinder Singh, Assistant Civil Surgeon.

Even as the district committee of the CPM, headed by Mr Rattan Singh Randhawa has alleged that ‘innocent’ unemployed persons were duped by the Assistant Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajinder Singh, and employees of the Health Department, Manjit Kaur, Pishoura Singh and Jaswant Singh, Assistant Civil Surgeon claimed that the move was an attempt to ‘pre-empt’ action.

The CPM produced one Veena before the Press who had alleged that she was approached by Manjit Kaur for getting her appointed in the Health Department. She alleged that Manjit Kaur promised her the job of a clerk against a payment of Rs 90,000. On getting the appointment, Veenas joined at Gharinda as the official concerned who got the ‘joining report’ from her as ‘told by the Assistant Civil Surgeon’. Interestingly, she got the two month’s “salary” from the department also. Then her brother joined at Ajnala on similar grounds.

Mr Randhawa and Mr Jagtar Singh of the CPM alleged that the officials of the Health Department, including the Assistant Civil Surgeon, cheated different candidates of Rs 6.4 lakh for their ‘appointments’.

Dr Rajinder Singh, however, alleged that some of his senior colleagues were behind the entire ‘game’ since he was on the verge of promotion.

He, however, admitted that some junior employees could also be involved in the ‘fake appointments’. He said the ‘official number’ recorded in the ‘fake appointment’ letters and the format was lifted from the department.

However, the CPM leaders alleged that the CIA Department had let off some ‘guilty’ employees who were rounded up. The CPM alleged that the case was being hushed up.

Sources claimed that the racket was just the ‘tip of an iceberg’.