Quota row: Two former officials of Morinda civic body booked after 11 years

Ropar, June 13

The district police have booked Morinda Municipal Council’s ex-president Vijay Kumar Tinku and former executive officer Gurbakhshish Singh in an 11-year-old case relating to the alleged appointment of a schoolteacher of the general category against the post reserved for a Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate.

Tinku had recently contested on the Congress ticket from the Kharar Assembly constituency unsuccessfully.

It was seven years ago in 2015 when Gurdhian Singh of Morinda lodged a complaint with the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission, alleging that Rajni Bala was recruited as a teacher at the local Government Elementary School in 2011 by the MC against a vacancy meant for an SC candidate. Meanwhile, Rajnish Sood, the husband of newly appointed teacher, was an accountant in the civic body at that time.

Ropar SP (Investigation) HS Atwal said it was found that there was a vacancy of a teacher in the school for an SC caste candidate and by manipulating the facts, a resolution was passed in the MC to advertise the post for the general category.

“Following this, 11 applications were received. Of these, 10 were rejected on one or the other pretext and then Rajni Bala was interviewed and selected for the post,” the SP added. A case under Section 3 (1) (za) (E) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC had been registered against the accused and an action-taken report had been sent to the commission, Atwal said.

Matter dates back to 2011

• In 2015, Gurdhian Singh alleged that Rajni Bala was hired as a teacher in 2011 on a post meant for the SC candidate
• Morinda MC’s ex-chief Vijay Kumar Tinku had contested on the Congress ticket from Kharar Assembly segment