FIR filed against ex-ACP for using fake ST certificate
Surat: Umra police of Surat city have booked former assistant commissioner of police (ACP) B M Chaudhary for allegedly obtaining a fake Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate and using it to secure a job as a police sub-inspector.
Chaudhary also got a promotion to the ACP rank in 2024 based on this caste certificate.
The police action came on the basis of a complaint filed by Surat district social welfare officer Mukesh Gamit. His office received a communication in Oct 2024 from the Tribal Development Department and Gujarat Vigilance Commission that the ST certificate of Bapubhai Motibhai Chaudhary (B M Chaudhary) was fake.
Chaudhary was removed from govt service last week with just one month left in his service.
He was ACP of K Division of Surat city police at the time of his removal. The govt action came after he failed to produce any proof to demonstrate that he belonged to the ST community despite he being given 15 reminders and opportunities over the past three years.
In Jan 2021, Godhara-based Adijati Vikas Trust president Pravin Pargi had filed a complaint with the govt that Chaudhary's ST certificate was fake. Based on the complaint, an investigation was launched by the Surat district social welfare office as the ST certificate had been issued to Chaudhary by this office in 1990.
According to the law, it is the responsibility of Chaudhary to prove that he belonged to the ST category. The certificate of his school showed his caste as 'Hindu Taili', which is not included in castes under the ST category. As he failed to prove that he belonged to a Scheduled Tribe (ST), it was recommended to the govt that his ST certificate be considered "cancelled and seized".
As Chaudhary was an ACP, a class-1 officer, he was given 15 opportunities over the past three years through letters and reminders. But he did not respond.
The FIR was filed under Sections 12 (1) (a) and 12 (1) (b) of the Gujarat Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of Caste Certificates) Act, 2018.
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