Fate of edu minister to be decided in 24 hrs: Omar

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the fate of education minister Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, whose foster son's Class 10 exam was allegedly fudged, would be decided in the next 24 hours.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the fate of education minister Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, whose foster son's Class 10 exam was allegedly fudged, would be decided in the next 24 hours.

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Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Omar said the findings of the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Crime Branch have been discussed with his alliance partner Congress.

"We will decide action in 24-36 hours. The minister is not accused of helping his son," Omar said but added the probe had not yet established at whose behest the tampering of three answersheets had been done.

The chief minister said he was not lenient with anyone.

"I am just following the natural course of justice that his guilt has to be established. I can't go on presumptions.

The guilt must be established. In this case, the minister happens to be the education minister also. Therefore, a thorough probe is a must," he said.

The Crime Branch had concluded there were some irregularities in the anwser sheets of Sayeed's foster son's Class 10 exam, which he passed, after it found two hand writings on them.

The Crime Branch, which probed the answer-paper scandal in its report submitted to the government today, also identified three officials allegedly involved in this.

The report said there were two hand writings on three answer sheets of the Class 10 exam taken by the student, official sources said here. Sayeed is a Congress nominee in the state cabinet.

The sources said the three identified officials belonged to the examination division of the J and K Board of Secondary Education.