M A I N   N E W S

Wife of Manpreet’s ex-aide in VB net
Charged with getting job on fake certificate
Jaswinder Paul

Muktsar, July 24
After certain ministers and MLAs of the previous Akali Dal government, it seems to be the turn of their supporters to fall in the net of Vigilance Bureau.

The bureau has booked the wife of a former political secretary of an Akali MLA of the district for producing fake certificates to get admission to a higher course, on the basis of which she got the job of a teacher.

Karamjeet Kaur, wife of Mr Charanjeet Singh of Fakkarsar village, was appointed ETT teacher in 2001. Mr Charanjeet Singh, now a naib tehsildar in the Revenue Department was the political secretary of the Akali Dal MLA, Mr Manpreet Singh Badal, a nephew of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Sources said Karamjeet Kaur joined as ETT teacher at Government Primary School, Fakkarsar, on December 24, 2001. She had done BA and B.Ed. from Maghad University of Bodh Gaya in Bihar. Both these certificates are genuine, but the intermediate (Equivalent to plus two in Punjab) degree certificate, on the basis of which admission to BA and, subsequently B.Ed., was taken, is fake.

Karamjeet Kaur claimed to have passed the intermediate course from a college of Bihar, but investigation by the Vigilance Bureau has revealed that she was never admitted to that institute. So when she had not passed the lower level (plus two) examination, she was not eligible for taking admission to the degree course (BA and then B.Ed).

The Vigilance authorities said that the intermediate degree claimed to be obtained from the Bihar Intermediate Education Council, Patna, under roll number 14258 in 1992 was fake. The authorities of the Patna institute said the degree was fake as the student was not admitted there.

Unconfirmed sources said Karamjeet Kaur claimed to be a student of Patna institute during the year 1992 as the ‘fake’ degree she had obtained was issued on June 15, 1992, but during the same academic year (1991-92), she was a student of government school in Bathinda. She had also sat for the examination of plus two taken by the Punjab School Education Board in 1992.

Education Department authorities said one student could not sit for the same examination of different education boards. It is also interesting that while she had failed in the English subject exam of the Punjab school board, she got the first division in the English paper of the Patna institute examination.

Photostat copies of the certificates of Karamjeet Kaur which she attached with the application form were attested by her husband Chananjeet Singh as naib tehsildar (Agrarian) which is also against the rules. Under the Punjab Civil Services Rule, no gazetted officer can attest copies of certificates of his family members or blood relations.

It may be mentioned here that an inquiry is pending against Charanjeet Singh for allegedly getting the job of naib tehsildar by violating rules.

Mr Baljinder Singh Grewal, SP (Vigilance), Bathinda, said Karamjeet Kaur had been booked under Section 420 IPC, 13 (1), (D) R/V 13 (2) 88 as she was found guilty of having produced fake education certificates. He said that an official was sent to Patna and Bodh Gaya to check the veracity of the certificates.

He added that a Vigilance team had been sent to the native village of Charanjeet Kaur, to arrest her. He also confirmed that an inquiry was conducted against her husband Charanjeet Singh. However, he could not yet reveal the details of the inquiry.