Exclusive: Rich parents abuse school quota for poor
Inquiries conducted by the Revenue Department of the Delhi government have revealed many well-off people who have obtained Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates through fraudulent means to get nursery admission for their children.
They live in plush flats and own cars but when it comes to getting their kids admitted to good schools, they claim to earn only a few thousand rupees a month.
Inquiries conducted by the Revenue Department of the Delhi government have revealed many well-off people who have obtained Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates through fraudulent means to get nursery admission for their children. A MAIL TODAY investigation in January-when the nursery admission process was underway- had revealed a racket in EWS certificates issued on the basis of forged affidavits.
A Mail Today correspondent had approached touts outside offices of Sub-Divisional Magistrates who had confidently promised EWS certificates in exchange for a few thousand rupees. Following an inquiry, the Revenue Department unearthed a nexus between an organised gang and some officials. The poor little parents of nursery aspirants include one Kuldeep Singhal, who owns a threebedroom flat and has a car. Then there's Ramesh Goyal, a businessman who owns a garment shop; he took the weaker section route. And there are some too clever by half, like Manoj Singh who mentioned a wrong address in his EWS certificate to avoid verification. He also owns a car and house. Surjan Singh, a former MCD Standing Committee, takes the cake however. A Councillor now, Surjan Singh had no problems in declaring he was poor for his child to get into nursery.
Dharam Pal, divisional commissioner in the Delhi government, said, "We have taken action against four officials as they were found involved in the illegal activity." The enquiry concluded these officials were issuing certificates without verifying the antecedents of applicants. "It was revealed that the officials did not verify records properly and issued certificates. Four officials, including a tehsildar and three clerks, have been placed under suspension," said Mohammad Azimul Haq, DC (North-east). It was established that more than a dozen certificates were issued on the basis of forged documents and affidavits. Officials said this was an organised racket that involved many people. "The preliminary enquiry revealed that many people work in this. They use fake stamps to attest documents and affidavits. We are in the process of registering FIRs against them," said Haq.
Leader's role
BJP leader Sanjay Surjan is alleged to have obtained an income certificate through fraudulent means. To get his two children admitted to a prominent private school of East Delhi in 2005 through the EWS quota, Surjan, a former chairman of a standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and a sitting Councillor, allegedly submitted forged income certificates that declared his monthly income as only
Rs 2,000. His children were admitted to the school on the basis of this allegedly fake income certificate.
Surprisingly, the matter came to light after around nine years, when EWS applicant Shiv Kumar Choudhary learnt that the income certificate issued in his name last year had the same serial number as the certificate issued in Surjan's name in 2005. When Choudhary investigated the matter, he found out the earlier certificate was issued to from "Shahdara District". According to a senior official, Shahdara was a zone and not a district in 2005. This proved the earlier certificate was fake and made just to get admission to the school, the official said.
When Mail Today contacted Surjan, who represents Ashok Nagar, he said he was unaware of the matter and claimed he has not obtained any forged certificate. "I was not in the city at that time. When my kids were rejected admission, my family had approached some relatives to get admission and they in turn approached someone else. After preparing a forged certificate, my children got admission. I am also searching for the person who allegedly made the certificates," he said.
A probe conducted by a senior official of East Delhi Municipal Corporation revealed income certificate number 90559829451651 was issued to two people. Initially, it was issued in the name of Surjan in 2005 and an income certificate with the same serial number was issued on July 22, 2013 to Choudhary, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Enclave.
In 2005, it was issued by the Deputy Commissioner's office in Shahdara. The first certificate, issued by M.L. Jain, Executive Magistrate and Tehsildar of Seemapuri, mentioned that it was issued on the basis of an affidavit filed by Surjan after a verification and inquiry report was submitted by the bailiff.
Additional District Magistrate (Shahdara sub-division), Kuldeep Singh, told Mail Today Shahdara was not a district at that time and it was only part of a sub-division. "If the certificate was issued from Shahdara district, then the certificate is forged and if any complaint comes, we will conduct an inquiry into the matter," he said. (Some names have been changed to protect identities)