Punjab education minister Sikander Singh Maluka's close aide Mewa Singh obtained the matriculation certificate for getting a government job as a driver allegedly by using unfair means in the examination.
Mewa now faces the charges of someone impersonating him and taking the exam held in March this year.
At age 38, the primary school pass-out driver of Maluka tried to obtain the matriculation certificate so that he could become the minister's official driver and get the perks of a government servant.
Maluka had virtually adopted Mewa Singh over a decade ago and even got him a house constructed at his farm at Maluka village in Bathinda district. The minister had even refused an official driver and the official car so that Mewa escorted him on all his travels.
In March, Mewa "appeared" in the matriculation examination through the Punjab Schools Education Board's (PSEB) open school system. He applied for the post of a driver to the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board, the last date for applying which was May 2, before the declaration of the result. Mewa was issued the matriculation certificate on May 31.
It was on a complaint that the PSEB had initiated a preliminary inquiry after which the case was found fit for a thorough probe and referred to the Unfair Means Committee of the PSEB, Board chairperson Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal here confirmed.
{{/usCountry}}It was on a complaint that the PSEB had initiated a preliminary inquiry after which the case was found fit for a thorough probe and referred to the Unfair Means Committee of the PSEB, Board chairperson Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal here confirmed.
{{/usCountry}}Change of exam centre
Mewa was the only candidate among thousands of open school candidates for matriculation whose examination centre was changed at the eleventh hour, revealed the documents procured under the RTI.
Mewa's centre was changed from Arya School, Mandi Phul, meant for the open school candidates only, to Government Senior Secondary School, Bhai Rupa, both in Bathinda district.
The change in the centre coincided with the decision of the PSEB authorities to focus on centres of the open school candidates during inspections to curb the trend of mass copying among such candidates across the state.
The probe is likely to bring out the names of those board officials/employees who changed Mewa's centre at the last moment.