Zila Parishad Chairperson disqualified over fake caste certificate

Dusmanta Kumar Behera, Director General, Development and Panchayats Department, on Friday was disqualified from the post of Chairperson and membership of Zila Parishad after her Backward Class (BC)-A certificate was found to be fake.

Pradeep Sharma of Binjhol had filed a complaint against Kajal Deswal, wife of Sandeep Deswal of Kurar village, alleging that Kajal used a fake BC-A certificate to contest the Zila Parishad elections from Ward-13 in Panipat in 2022. She got elected from the seat reserved for the BC-A category. The complainant further alleged that she was a resident of Dhunna village of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh and belongs to the Rajput community.

Following the complaint, a report was sought from the Deputy Commissioner into the matter. The inquiry, conducted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and the District Magistrate of Saharanpur, confirmed that Kajal Deswal's actual caste is Hindu Rajput

After that show-cause notices were served to Kajal Deswal.

On the other hand, Sandeep Deswal, husband of Kajal Deswal said the matter is pending in the High Court. The decision is of the Director, Panchayat and Development Department and an appeal against this decision would be filed before the ACS, Deswal said.