The Hindu : National : Man convicted for forging letter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 24, 2004

National

National

Man convicted for forging letter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 23. A city court today convicted a man who approached the then President, R. Venkataraman, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek a personal favour on a forged letter purportedly written by freedom fighter Vijaylakshmi Pandit.

Puran Chand Pathak had submitted a forged letter purportedly written by Mrs. Pandit to Mr. Venkataraman saying, ``He is close to me. He may be engaged in social work in which he can make a mark.''

Mr. Venkatraman had endorsed the letter and directed his office staff to recommend the letter to the Union Social Welfare Ministry.

But the then Secretary to the President expressed doubts about the authenticity of the letter and referred it to Mrs. Pandit. In her reply, Mrs. Pandit said she neither knew such a person nor had written a letter to the President seeking a favour.

The Metropolitan Magistrate, Sidharth Sharma, convicted Pathak of Clutterbuck Ganj in Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh) for the offence he committed in 1988.

He observed: ``The convict was 23 years old when he committed the offence. It is a fit case of benefit of probation.''

Pathak was nabbed by the police when he again went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan after he was called for a meeting. During the trial, the prosecution said Pathak had written the forged letter for personal benefit. — UNI

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