Ludhiana: College principal, BJP worker booked in forgery case
According to police, the duo forged documents of the Satguru Educational Welfare Society to show Bhatia as the president and added his family members as office bearers
A BJP worker and a college principal have been booked for allegedly forging documents of an educational society to illegally increase the number of seats in a nursing course.
The accused, Rajinder Kumar Bhatia, a BJP worker, and Sandeep Kaur, principal of Satguru Institute of Nursing Education, are yet to be arrested.
According to police, the duo forged documents of the Satguru Educational Welfare Society to show Bhatia as the president and added his family members as office bearers. This manipulation was allegedly done to seek an increase in seats for the General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course at the institute—from 30 to 60.
The FIR was lodged based on a complaint by Harpal Singh, a resident of Sector 32-A, Chandigarh Road, who has been president of the society since 2001. Singh said that the institute, established in 2004, had 30 sanctioned GNM seats. He discovered the forgery after obtaining documents through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which revealed falsified bank statements and fabricated society records.
The forged application, submitted to the Directorate of Research and Medical Education, falsely showed Bhatia as president, his son Sunny Bhatia as general secretary and his wife Pooja Bhatia as finance secretary. Singh filed a complaint on November 30, 2023. An inquiry led by the deputy commissioner of police confirmed the forgery.
Assistant sub inspector Randhir Singh, the investigating officer, said that the FIR has been registered under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, BJP district president Rajnish Dhiman said that Bhatia is a party worker but holds no official position, adding that the matter is personal and not linked to the party.