Rajsthan minister says 777 panchayat candidates submitted fake degrees, 2 arrested

Jaipur, May 17

Two sarpanches have been arrested for allegedly producing fake certificates to contest panchayat elections in Rajasthan, with a minister on Sunday claiming that over 700 candidates resorted to similar act after the state government made the educational qualification mandatory for contesting the rural polls.

"A total of 777 candidates who were elected as sarpanch for zila parishad and panchayat samiti members allegedly submitted fake marksheets at the time of filing nominations," state Panchayati Raj Minister Surendra Goyal told PTI.

"As many as 777 complaints have been made in all the districts and 479 FIRs have been registered so far in connection of those complaints," Goyal said.

He said that out of the 777 complaints, maximum of 746 were against sarpanches and one against zila pramukh.

Divisional commissioners are probing remaining complaints and cases would also be registered in those remaining complaints also, if required, he said.

Goyal said the action against those found guilty will be taken as per the law. If any public representative would be sent in police custody for more than 24 hours, he or she will be suspended.

The state government had brought in an ordinance before the panchyat elections imposing a minimum educational qualification of having passed class VIII for the post of sarpanch and Class X for zila parishad and panchayat samiti members.

Meanwhile, a woman sarpanch, Shimla Devi, has been arrested last week for allegedly producing a fake marksheet of Class VIII to contest panchayat elections in Tonk district.

She was elected as sarpanch of Badoli in Tonk.

"She submitted certificates to prove that she had passed Class VIII from a school in Kota but it turned out to be fake during investigation, so she was arrested last week," Tonk SP Deepak Kumar said today.

Another woman sarpanch of Pipliya village of Hindoli block in Bundi district, Barjibai, was arrested today for producing fake degree of Class VIII to contest the election, police said.

The woman sarpanch was produced before the magistrate in Bundi from where she was sent to 14 days of judicial custody, police said. — PTI