Karnataka - Bidar   

Caste certificate of Bajrang Dal convener cancelled

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIDAR, SEPT. 23. After a two-day inquiry, the Bidar tahsildar, S.N. Bari, has cancelled the caste certificate issued to Ishwar Singh Thakur, the convener of the district unit of the Bajrang Dal.

The certificate was cancelled as Mr. Thakur was found to belong to the Meengar (Kahar) community, one of the Other Backward Classes and not listed under the Scheduled Castes (SC) category.

A Government Order of 1992 empowers the issuing authority to cancel a caste certificate, if it was found to violate norms. It can also be cancelled if it was found to be illegal or supported false claims.

Allegations

Ishwar Singh Thakur, alias Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, is facing allegations of abetting the suicide of a high school headmaster, stealing and destroying official documents relating to his caste, and using a false certificate to claim benefits meant for the Scheduled Castes.

Mr. Thakur, who was missing since the suicide on Monday, surrendered before the District Court here today. Mr. Thakur was remanded in judicial custody till October 6th.

Nomination

Mr. Thakur's nomination for the Bidar (Lok Sabha) byelection was also automatically cancelled. The controversy began when Mr. Thakur, an advocate, announced that he would contest the byelection from the Bidar Lok Sabha constituency, reserved for Scheduled Castes. Dalit organisations in the district organised protests against this, alleging that he had been using a false certificate to obtain benefits reserved for Scheduled Castes. They alleged that he belonged to the Meengar community but had obtained a false certificate claiming that he belonged to the Bhovi (Scheduled Caste) community. They also filed a cheating case against Mr. Thakur.

Threatened

The controversy took a tragic turn when Maruthi Machkare, the headmaster of the Janawada Government High School committed suicide, after complaining to the police that Mr. Thakur had threatened to kill him.

Dailt groups had approached the school a day before, obtained copies of the certificates, and submitted them to the District Commissioner and Returning Officer, T.K. Anil Kumar. Mr. Thakur was absconding since Monday. Bidar police had formed two teams to arrest him. But he surrendered before the district court on Thursday.

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