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Haryana: Kurukshetra sarpanch arrested for using forged Class 10 certificate to contest polls
The accused, identified as Pawan Kumar, the suspended sarpanch of Kharindwa village in the Shahabad subdivision, was produced before a court on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody, a police spokesperson said.
Kurukshetra police on Wednesday said they have arrested a village sarpanch for allegedly contesting the 2022 panchayat elections using a forged Class 10 certificate.
The accused, identified as Pawan Kumar, the suspended sarpanch of Kharindwa village in the Shahabad subdivision, was produced before a court on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody, a police spokesperson said.
According to the police, Kumar had submitted a Class 10 marksheet purportedly issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) while filing his nomination papers for the panchayat elections in 2022. He went on to win the election by a margin of nearly 300 votes, defeating his rival Sanjeev Kumar.
Following the election, Sanjeev Kumar lodged a complaint with the then deputy commissioner, alleging that Pawan Kumar had submitted forged documents. An inquiry was ordered, after which the deputy commissioner directed Kumar’s removal from the post of sarpanch on December 27, 2024.
Subsequently, a criminal case was registered against him on December 30, 2024. Police said that several raids were conducted to arrest him, but he remained absconding.
During the investigation, the marksheet was verified with the CBSE office in Panchkula, which reportedly confirmed that the document had not been issued by the board.
Police further said that both the Punjab and Haryana high court, on November 11, 2025, and the Supreme Court, on December 11, 2025, dismissed Kumar’s anticipatory bail pleas. He was arrested on Monday following these orders.
