Ludhiana: DEO writes to CP, challenges bail of Sekhewal teacher

After Nisha Rani, a headteacher of Government Primary School, Sekhewal, accused of financial misconduct and fraudulent student enrolments, secured anticipatory bail on March 29, District Education Officer (DEO) (elementary), Ravinder Kaur, have written to the commissioner of police appealing against the bail.

The letter has been forwarded to the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Industry Area-B for further action. ACP Satwinder Singh, of Industry Area-B confirmed receiving the appeal letter and said the investigation is still ongoing, with some crucial records yet to be collected.

An FIR was filed against Rani at Daba police station on March 13, charging her under IPC Sections 409 and 420 for allegedly siphoning school funds and inflating student numbers to obtain government benefits. The controversy began when DEO visited her school in October 2024. Rani was accused of creating thousands of fake student records to wrongfully claim government benefits like mid-day meals, textbooks and uniforms.

Investigations revealed that while she was posted at Government Primary School, Giaspura, over 2,500 ghost admissions were made. An inquiry report submitted in December last year uncovered a web of deceit. Shockingly, 39 students were falsely marked as present for final exams in 2023-24, even though they had not attended school all year. Investigators found that other students were made to sit in their place to maintain fake attendance records.

The report, compiled by Gurdeep Singh, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Bassian, and Hardev Singh, BPEO of Sidhwan Bet-2, highlighted massive financial misconduct. Around ₹6 lakh was reportedly withdrawn using self-signed cheques. Salaries meant for mid-day meal workers were taken out in cash, and crucial documents were found with forged signatures of school management committee chairman Balbir Singh.

An earlier inspection in October 2024 had already raised red flags against Rani. Attendance data on the official e-Punjab portal didn’t match school records, timetables were missing, and stock registers were incomplete. Renovation works had been carried out without proper approval, and OMR sheets used for student assessments had disappeared.

After her suspension in October, Rani was first transferred to GPS Mattewara, but she never took charge there. She was then reassigned to Sekhewal, where fresh irregularities were found earlier this year. A January 2025 probe found discrepancies in food grain records, again pointing to potential misuse of resources.