STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Exposing a scandal involving the senior officers of the Education department, the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) on Saturday booked former Chief Education Officer (CEO) and other officials of Education Department besides two beneficiaries for whom a fictitious school was shown in Khour zone of Jammu District, in 2014.
The then CEO Tarsem Lal is already facing a vigilance case related to recruitment of Class IV employees in Education Department, who had not even filed forms on time.
In Mufti Mohammed Sayeed led government, Tarsem Lal was retired prematurely.
However, in this instant case, according to Vigilance, the Education Department officers’ hatched a conspiracy to adjust blue eyed candidates as Rehbar-e-Talim teachers by showing a school on papers, which was later merged with an existing school.
Taking cognizance of a complaint, the SVO unearthed the conspiracy under which a Primary School at Dhar Chhani Dowano Mohalla, Sardaran Da (Zone Khour) had been shown on papers to facilitate the appointment of two candidates as ReTs, illegally and in violation of the prevalent norms.
SVO did not found any proposal or sanction of competent authority, Project Director SSA, for the opening of the so-called school. The school existed on papers just for a month and subsequently was shown merged with the old primary school at village Naiwala.
“This clearly speaks about the malafide intention of the Education department officers that the said school was opened just to adjust fraudulently the beneficiaries as ReT teachers”, the SVO observed.
The Vigilance found two orders of sanction for opening of aforsaid school issued by the accused CEO after completion of selection process of the ReT teachers/illegal beneficiaries namely Amarjeet Singh Pujwal and Mandeep Kour.
Two posts of ReT teachers were advertised and selections were made when the school neither existed on the ground nor even in the papers. Moreover, it was also found that the Feasibility Report submitted by the then ZEO Khour, reportedly on telephonic directions, clearly indicated no requirement for opening of the school as the requisite parameters were not fulfilled. The selection of two ReT teachers in non-existent school as such was found illegal.
After verification, Tarsem Lal, the then CEO, Jammu, accused beneficiaries Amarjeet Singh Pujwal and Mandeep Kour and others, were booked for commission of offences punishable under Section 5(1) (d) 5(2) J&K PC Act Svt. 2006 and Section 120-B RPC. Accordingly, an FIR was registered at Vigilance and investigation has been set in motion.
