23 officials, teachers summoned in Ferozepur recruitment scam

Kulwinder Sandhu

Moga/Ferozepur, August 20

A teachers’ recruitment scam has come to light in the Ferozepur Cantonment Board. The court of Balvinder Kaur Dhaliwal, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Ferozepur, recently summoned at least 23 persons, including senior officials of the board and beneficiary teachers, on September 20 to face trial with regard to the irregularities committed in the recruitment of teachers in the cantonment board schools.

The prominent persons who have been summoned to face trial include SC Kaushik, Principal Director, Defence Estate, Western Command, Chandigarh; Brigadier Narinder Singh, former president of Ferozepur Cantonment Board; G Vijaya Bhaskar, former Chief Executive Officer of the board, now posted as the Director, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi; Om Pal Singh, another former CEO of the Cantonment Board now posted as the DEO, Bathinda Circle, and some teachers who do not fulfil basic education qualification and got jobs by fraudulent means.

A Ferozepur resident, Puneet Sood, who filed a case demanding legal action had also brought to the notice of the court that he submitted two separate representations to the Principal Director, Defence Estate, Chandigarh, and the then president of the board regarding illegal appointments and confirmation of teachers but no legal or departmental action was initiated by them.

Sood further claimed that none of the teachers had cleared PSTET examination, as a result of which, the studies of students was at stake and as such all alleged accused persons summoned by the court were legally liable to be taken to task for the offences committed by them. He has submitted many documents, including the official record of the board, as preliminary evidence before the court.

The judge while accepting the case said all accused are ordered to be summoned to face trial under Sections 419, 420, 465, 467, 471 and 120-B of the IPC on September 20.

Mandatory test not considered

The officials did not consider a mandatory requirement of qualifying PSTET while making appointments of at least 12 teachers. The former CEO of the Ferozepur Cantonment Board, Om Pal Singh, before relieving his assignment as the CEO, illegally confirmed the services of the 12 teachers in 2018.