FIR against former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi over fake caste certificate

An FIR was registered on Thursday night against former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi for allegedly obtaining a fake caste certificate claiming himself to be a tribal, police said.

The case was registered at the Gaurela police station here following a complaint by Sameera Paikra, BJP candidate from the Marwahi seat in the 2013 Assembly polls, they added.

Jogi was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.

According to Paikra, Jogi had allegedly obtained the fake caste certificate in 1967, he said.

Paikra lodged the case on the basis of a recently issued affidavit of a retired state government official, Patras Tirkey, the SP said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.

Tirkey stated in his affidavit that he was posted as the nayab tehsildar in Bilaspur in 1967-68 and he had never issued any caste certificate to Jogi, Paikra told reporters.

Tirkey has also stated that if Jogi produces any caste certificate containing his signature, it must be considered as false and fake, she added.

Last week, an FIR was registered with the Civil Lines police station against Jogi (73), who served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh, after a government-appointed committee rejected the latter's claim of being a tribal.

A high-level caste scrutiny committee set up by the state government last month dismissed Ajit Jogi's claim of belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) and cancelled his caste certificates.

Notably, Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi, a former MLA, was also arrested and sent to jail on September 3 based on a complaint by Sameera Paikra at the Gaurela Police station.

Amit Jogi is accused of cheating and forgery in connection with a declaration in a poll affidavit submitted by him during the 2013 state assembly elections.