Chandigarh, Aug 2 (IANS) The Haryana Police has registered a criminal case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from Delhi Cantt Surinder Singh for securing a job in the Haryana government allegedly on the basis of a fake degree.
The Delhi lawmaker has been booked in Jhajjar town in Haryana, 55 km from Delhi.
Surinder Singh has been booked for cheating under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint lodged by his political rival and BJP leader from Delhi, Karan Singh Tanwar.
Using the Right to Information (RTI) route, Tanwar procured documents stating that Surinder's highest qualification, in his service record in the Army, was senior secondary. Surender retired from the Army in 2011.
Tanwar alleged that Surinder had submitted fake graduation degree and marks-sheets for the period from January 2009 to March 2011, during which he was still in the Army, to secure the government job in Haryana.
Surinder was appointed teacher in the Government Senior Secondary School, Jhajjar, in 2012.
Popularly known as Commando, Surinder was a former Army trooper who took part in operations in the Kargil War (1999) and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack (2008). He was part of the elite NSG (National Security Guard) commando force during the operations by the security forces in Mumbai.
AAP leaders in Haryana and Delhi rubbished the case against Surinder Singh, saying it was "political vendetta" at the behest of the BJP.
Haryana AAP leader Naveen Jaihind said the party's legislators were being targeted at the behest of the BJP. He said the Delhi Police had already enquired into the matter and had given a clean chit to Surinder Singh.
Surinder Singh also claimed that the matter had been probed twice earlier and there was nothing wrong. He said the Haryana Police did not even ask him anything before registering the case.
