Bijnor- In Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, a district-level scrutiny committee chaired by the District Magistrate (DM) has cancelled the Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates of three women following a hearing.

This action was taken after Bhupendra of the Vishwa Dalit Parishad filed a complaint alleging that the women contested elections on reserved seats using forged SC certificates.

Allegations and Investigation

Bhupendra, the Dalit activist , raised concerns about three women who allegedly obtained SC certificates fraudulently to contest elections on reserved seats.

The allegations were that forged documents were used to obtain the SC certificates. He stated, "Sunita alias Sitara, wife of Mohammed Hussain, a resident of Shadipur Dalla Kotwali Dehat, converted to Islam and married Hussain. Sunita alias Sitara contested for the post of district panchayat member in 2022 by obtaining a Scheduled Caste certificate against the rules."

Similarly, Neelam alias Khushboo, wife of Salim Ahmed, contested from the Najibabad 4th seat. Shakuntala alias Shakeela Begum, wife of Abdul Latif, a resident of Bhaguwala village, also contested for a district panchayat member position using a fraudulent SC certificate.

The DM ordered an investigation by the relevant departments, and the matter was subsequently referred to the district-level SC committee for a hearing.

Committee Hearings and Decisions

1. Sunita alias Sitara: The committee heard her case but she failed to present any evidence in her favor. Consequently, the committee canceled her SC certificate issued by Tehsildar Sadar on June 3rd.

2. Neelam alias Khushboo: She was summoned by the committee on September 23rd and October 31st but did not appear for the hearings. As a result, her SC certificate was canceled.

3. Shakuntala alias Shakeela Begum: During the hearings on April 4th and April 13th, she provided a marriage receipt as evidence but could not produce any proof of conversion to Islam. Consequently, her SC certificate was also canceled.