Businessman fakes poverty to get son admitted to Delhi school under EWS quota, arrested
In an incident straight out of Irrfan Khan-starrer ‘Hindi Medium’, a businessman faked poverty to get his son admitted under the economically weaker section category at a prominent school in Delhi in 2013. Now, four years later, Gaurav Goel was arrested on Saturday after a complaint was lodged by Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri. ANI quoted New Delhi DCP Madhur Verma as saying that Goel forged his residence proof and showed his address at a slum near Sanjay Camp and even procured false EWS certificate and Income Tax return documents.
“Goel made false EWS certificate, residence proof & I-T return documents among others,” Verma said. While admitting his son to Sanskriti School, Goel had apparently told the authorities that he worked at an MRI centre and earned Rs 67,000 annually, media reports said. The bait was laid and the school fell for it, highlighting gross negligence in the verification process. A report has found that nearly 1,000 students got admissions in 200 schools in Delhi from 2013 to 2015 with fake economically weaker section (EWS) certificates to avail of quota for the category.
However, over-ambitiousness got the better of Goel when he tried to push for the admission of his second child under the sibling quota in the same school. The school authorities smelled a rat upon checking the files of the elder child and approached Goel who panicked. The school’s suspicion grew stronger after Goel told them that his financial condition had improved and they could shift his elder son to general category. He also mentioned his new address at an apartment in Safdarjung Enclave. The school then lodged a complaint with the Chanakyapuri police station, leading to Goel’s arrest.
Police found that Goel owned an MRI lab and a wholesale business of selling pulses and had visited 20 countries. Police also alleged that the whole plan would not have been successful without the help of government staff. The school authorities have informed the cops that the child has been expelled from the school.