Gardeners of Rashtrapati Bhawan accused of forgery, probe begins
Six gardeners, all belonging to Rajasthan, of the Rashtrapati Bhawan have been accused of forgery and cheating. Working at the President's Secretariat since February last year, the six of them reportedly produced fake certificates to get the job. They have now obeen terminated from the posts. The police are investigating the matter and no arrests have been made so far, in this major security breach.
How does one become a gardener at Rashtrapati Bhawan
Candidates need to clear a 100-mark test which consists of questions on general knowledge, science, and trade-related. Applicants are also expected to produce a skill certificate from the National Skill Qualification Framework or a gardening training certificate from a horticulture university/institute, with a minimum one-month training duration. The remuneration of selected candidates ranges from Rs. 18,000 to Rs. 56,900.
A tale of six gardeners: How they were caught
Identified as Amit Kumar, Dipak Kushwaha, Dilip Kumar Meena, Pushpendra Kumar Meena, Jitendra Meena and Surendra Kumar Meena, they failed to give a certificate of one-month training. The undersecretary Rubina Chauhan filed the case and said the authorities learned about the forgery when they were verifying the testimonials. The case has been registered at the South Avenue police station for cheating and impersonation.
Recruitment was online, says Rubina Chauhan
Speaking of the breach of security, Rubina Chauhan said, "We issued a circular of vacancy of grade 3 employees in January 2017 for direct employment. The recruitment was online-based. After receiving information about the fake certificates of the six employees, we terminated their services."
