E-Paper
Ayodhya GST deputy commissioner withdraws resignation; defends disability certificate
There was no pressure on him and that the decision was entirely personal, Ayodhya GST deputy commissioner said.
GST deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar Singh withdrew his resignation and said he had resumed work, asserting that there was no pressure on him and that the decision was entirely personal.
He had resigned from service on Tuesday, stating he was protesting against what he described as “objectionable” remarks made by Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand against chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Soon after, his brother Vishwajeet Singh accused him of securing his job under the disability quota using a fake disability certificate. Acting on the complaint, principal secretary Kamini Ratan Chauhan sought a report from state tax commissioner Nitin Bansal.
Responding to allegations, Prashant claimed that Vishwajeet was involved in criminal activities and had subjected him to extortion and threats. He explained that the certificate was issued by the same office and that the Mau chief medical officer had confirmed its authenticity in writing.
Vishwajit had also accused his sister, Jaya Singh, of obtaining a fake disability certificate. Jaya Singh, who is currently posted as Tehsildar in Hata tehsil of Kushinagar, rejected the allegations, calling them baseless. She said she was ready to face any investigation and claimed the allegations stemmed from a family dispute.
Prashant alleged that his brother, Vishwajeet Singh, was an active member of Mukhtar Ansari’s Mau gang and had also served as its financial adviser. He further claimed that several criminal cases were registered against Vishwajeet Singh and alleged that he had assaulted their parents, in connection with which an FIR was lodged.
In 2021, his brother Vishwajeet Singh had submitted an application to the chief medical officer (CMO), Mau, alleging that the disability certificate issued to Prashant Kumar Singh was fake as it did not carry a date or doctors’ signatures.
Prashant said that instead of taking action against those responsible for issuing the allegedly fake certificate, the Mau CMO ordered an inquiry against him, even though the certificate had been issued from the same office. He maintained that an investigation should first have been conducted to verify the certificate’s authenticity.
He said he later appeared before the chief medical officer of Ayodhya, following which the Mau CMO was asked to clarify the matter. Prashant added that the Mau CMO subsequently confirmed in writing that the certificate was genuine and questioned why it continued to be described as fake despite the official confirmation.
