DEO asked to get FIR registered against official in corruption case

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 6

Education Secretary Krishan Kumar has reportedly asked the District Education Officer to get a FIR registered with the police against the Deputy DEO and two others, who were allegedly involved in a corruption case.

DEO Harjit Singh told Ludhiana Tribune that he had received the letter and was examining the matter thoroughly. Further action would be taken after getting all facts cleared, he added.

The corruption case dates back to 2018 when Amit Mittal, a clerk of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, was caught by MLA Simarjit Singh Bains taking a bribe of Rs 70,000.

Mittal had alleged that Deputy DEO Kuldeep Singh and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan legal adviser Harvinder Singh had asked Mittal to take bribe from a private school, which was being run without proper documents, incomplete infrastructure and had discrepancies in its functioning.

A deal was later stuck between the school authorities and the staff of the department to let the school function in its current condition.

The deputy DEO was charge-sheeted in the matter. The Vigilance Bureau had undertaken an enquiry against the Deputy DEO, the report of which was submitted confirming that he took the bribe.

A retired principal of a government school here said such employees should be dealt with strictly as they taint the name of to the department.

“We cannot compromise with the ethics of the profession. This way, other private schools, which lack infrastructure and function with other discrepancies, will also approach the department officials for favours. This will put the education system in trouble,” said the principal.

The case

Amit Mittal, a clerk under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, was caught by MLA Simarjit Singh Bains while taking a bribe of Rs 70,000. Mittal alleged that Deputy DEO Kuldeep Singh and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan legal adviser Harvinder Singh had asked him to take bribe from a private school, which was being run without proper documents, incomplete infrastructure and had discrepancies in its functioning.