Man used home printer, laptop to forge CwSN certificates for school admissions, held

A printer and a laptop at a house in Sadar Bazaar, forged disability certificates purportedly issued by a government hospital, and brown envelopes handed to parents outside a prominent Chanakyapuri school. Police say a 42-year-old man used this set-up to help three families secure nursery admissions for their children under the Children with Special Needs (CwSN) quota, charging two of them Rs 20,000 each.

The man, Shariq Akhtar, a resident of Sadar Bazaar, was arrested on October 3 from his home, said police. Akhtar, an officer said, lived with his two brothers. While he and one of his brothers are unmarried, the other one is a widower.

The case came to light after the school flagged similarities in the three disability certificates submitted by the families and approached Delhi Police for verification on September 16.

According to police, three couples from Old Delhi – all running businesses – had approached the accused seeking admission for their children to the nursery class of the prominent school. The children – aged four, five and six – had applied for admission under the CwSN category.

“The accused assured them that he would arrange the admissions. Two families paid him Rs 20,000 each, while the third paid Rs 4,000 initially as the child’s father was unwell,” an officer said.

On the day of admission, the families were asked to assemble outside the school gate. “A man approached them and handed over brown envelopes, asking them to submit the documents. The envelopes contained forged certificates,” the officer said.

Police said the accused used a printer and laptop to prepare fake disability certificates purportedly issued by Lok Nayak Hospital, along with recommendations from the Delhi Directorate of Education.

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All the three disability certificates, issued by Lok Nayak Hospital, claimed that the children had 41% hearing impairment. “The certificates appeared almost identical, which raised suspicion at the school. During the verification process, it came to light that the hospital had not issued any such certificate,” the officer said.

Following the school’s complaint, police registered an FIR under sections 318(2) (cheating), 337 (forgery of records or public registers), 340(2) (using a forged document as genuine) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police said the printer and laptop had been sent for forensic examination to determine whether the accused had prepared more such certificates. “He is known in the area for arranging admissions to prominent schools through quotas. However, prima facie, it appears that the parents were unaware that forged certificates would be used to secure the admissions,” the officer said.

“During questioning, Shariq falsely claimed that he did this for the first time, and that he has contacts in the PMO… We have sent his printer and laptop to the forensic lab. A report on how many times he has forged documents will be clear from the analysis,” the officer added.