Bilaspur: An FIR was registered on Thursday night against former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi for allegedly obtaining a fake certificate to show he belonged to a Scheduled Tribe community, said the police. The case was registered at the Gaurela police station following a complaint by Sameera Paikra, the BJP candidate from the Marwahi seat in the 2013 Assembly polls, they added.
The complaint was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code such as 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), said Prashant Agrawal, Bilaspur superintendent of police.
According to Paikra, Jogi had allegedly obtained the fake certificate in 1967. Paikra lodged the case based on a recently issued affidavit of Patras Tirkey, a retired state government official, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway. Tirkey also stated in his affidavit that he was posted as the nayab tehsildar in Bilaspur in 1967-68 and he had never issued any case certificate to Jogi, Paikra told reporters. Tirkey also stated that if Jogi produces any certificate containing his signature, it must be considered as false and fake.
Also read: Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi’s Son Amit Arrested on Cheating Charge
Last week, an FIR was registered with the Civil Lines police station against Jogi (73), who served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh, after a government-appointed committee rejected the latter’s claim of being a tribal. A high-level scrutiny committee set up by the state government last month dismissed Ajit Jogi’s claim of belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) and cancelled his certificates.
Notably, Amit Jogi, a former MLA and Ajit Jogi’s son, was also arrested and sent to jail on September 3 based on a complaint by Sameera Paikra at the Gaurela police station. He is accused of cheating and forgery in connection with a declaration in a poll affidavit submitted by him during the 2013 state assembly elections.
(PTI)