Assam: BJP candidates face court scrutiny over educational certificates

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The ruling BJP has come under scrutiny ahead of the municipal elections over mandatory educational qualification criteria and allegations of fake certificates involving two of its candidates, Ataur Rahman Laskar and Sumana Das.

The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) court in Silchar on Thursday issued directions in separate cases involving the candidates. ACJM S.J. Deb summoned Sumana Das to appear before the court on September 29. In Laskar's case, the court directed the Cachar District Magistrate to submit a report by September 30 and asked police to report on the progress of the complaint against him. Laskar was also directed to cooperate with the investigation.

BJP state president Dilip Saikia said the party had scrutinised the documents submitted by all aspirants before awarding nominations. "No one from the party has submitted any fake document with their affidavits," he claimed.

The complaint against Laskar was filed by Nazim Uddin Borbhuiya, Ahmed Hussain Borbhuiya and Salma Begum Borbhuiya. They alleged that Laskar falsely claimed in his election affidavit to have completed Higher Secondary from the Jharkhand State Open School in Ranchi in 2014 and a BA in History from Vinayaka Missions Sikkim University in 2018.

The petitioners cited a 2019 Allahabad High Court ruling declaring the Jharkhand State Open School fraudulent and illegal, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020.

The court observed that there were preliminary grounds to suspect Laskar's educational credentials and directed authorities to examine possible administrative and legal action.

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