The black sheep: Police arrest teacher involved in bogus certificate racket

The suspect was reportedly conducting his business in connivance with board officials.

KARACHI:

A government school teacher, apprehended by the police on Tuesday, along with over 100 fake marksheets and certificates of the University of Karachi (KU) as well as other secondary and intermediate education boards, was released by the judicial magistrate for want of evidence, on Wednesday.

The suspect, Masood Akhtar Naqvi, was produced before a judicial magistrate in the Central district who discharged him under section 63 of the Criminal Procedure Court. The magistrate directed, however, the police to submit the charge sheet after verification of the collected evidence within two weeks. Aneesur Rehman, the investigation officer of the case, told The Express Tribune that, “We expected some major breakthrough in exposing the network if the accused was remanded in police custody.”

On Tuesday, a Samanabad police team arrested Naqvi on a tip off form near Afghani Football Stadium located in block 19 of Federal B Area along with fake marks sheets and certificates of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK), Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) and KU, said Karachi central district SSP Amir Farooqui.

The police also recovered fake stamps of various school and college principals, as well as, filled-in answer scripts of the failed Intermediate students, whose results are expected to be announced on August 28. “These answer scripts were to be replaced with new ones, allegedly in connivance with BIEK officials, including the assistant controller of examinations, Attaur Rehman,” said SSP Farooqui. “We have come to know that the accused had well-placed accomplices at the relevant examination boards and the KU.”

Meanwhile, the police also raided the BIEK office on Tuesday in search of potential accomplices, The Express Tribune has learnt. The police were reportedly looking for a former secretary of the KU employee’s welfare association, Jalees Ahmed Qazi, as well as two clerks of the BSEK, identified as Mukhtar and Ibrahim.

“I just came to know about the possible involvement of the BSEK employees in this scandal,” said its controller of examinations, Noman Ahsan. “If those employees are involved in the preparation of fake marks sheets and certificates, I call for stern legal action against them.”

Ahsan said that the education board, comprising over 400 employees, had nothing to do with this affair. “This matter should be properly investigated to expose the network so that we can know the actual high-ups for whom these clerks work.”

For his part, the BIEK assistant controller of examinations, Attaur Rehman said that he did not even know any person with this name and termed it a conspiracy to malign his reputation.

The police have registered an FIR 151/2013 on behalf of the state and investigations are underway. Meanwhile, the prime suspect, Naqvi, termed the case and charges a ‘conspiracy’ against him. He refused, however, to comment further.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2013.