In Dholpur, 48-year-old teacher Moni Devi was arrested by the police for working in a government job for 20 years using fake 10th and 12th certificates. The scam was exposed through a family complaint and an investigation by the Meerut Board.
Dholpur: A major incident that has embarrassed the education department has come to light in Dholpur district of Rajasthan. Here, a 48-year-old teacher, Moni Devi, has been arrested by the police. She had been working for the past two decades based on fake 10th and 12th mark sheets. Moni Devi, who was appointed to the post of third-grade teacher in 2005 under the widow quota, received lakhs of rupees in salary for years, but her deception was revealed during verification.
Worked for 20 Years with Fake Documents
Moni Devi's case is shocking because she secured employment with fake documents in 2005 itself and had been teaching children continuously since then. During this period, the department never deeply investigated her certificates. As a result, she continued her government job fearlessly even after drawing a salary for 20 years.
Investigations have revealed that Moni Devi's husband passed away in 2001. After this, she attempted to secure a job under the widow quota. In this regard, she obtained fake mark sheets for 10th and 12th grade from an intermediate college in Agra. Using these documents as a basis, she obtained the post of a third-grade teacher and misled the government machinery for a long time.
Fraud Exposed by Family Complaint
Moni Devi's fraud was exposed by her own family. A female relative had lodged a complaint with the department several years ago, stating that the teacher had obtained the job using fake certificates. However, the department did not take the complaint seriously at the time and shelved the matter.
When the department failed to take action, the complainant herself got the documents verified from the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Meerut. It was clarified from there that the roll numbers and certificates on the basis of which Moni Devi secured the job were not registered in any record. Armed with this report, the woman directly approached the District Collector and submitted concrete evidence. This led to the police investigation being activated.
Arrested from Agra
Based on the verification report, the education department registered a case at the Rajakhera police station. Station in-charge Ramkishan Yadav stated that a report was submitted by the Chief Block Education Officer on February 24. It clearly stated that the teacher had obtained the job using forged documents.
Considering the gravity of the matter, the police launched an investigation and finally arrested Moni Devi on Monday from the Tajganj area of Agra. She is now being interrogated about who else was involved in preparing the fake documents and how the substantial amount of salary was withdrawn.
Questions Raised on the Education Department
This incident has raised serious questions about the functioning of the education department and the government machinery. How a woman continued to work for 20 years without being caught is considered a major lapse by the administration. Had the family not taken the initiative for verification, this fraud might have continued for even longer.
Experts believe that the department should have rigorously checked the documents at the time of appointment. However, due to negligence, not only was the public exchequer put at a loss, but the credibility of the education system was also affected. Currently, Moni Devi is behind bars, and the process of terminating her services is underway at the departmental level.
