SOLAPUR: Days after a district-level committee declared the caste certificate of Solapur BJP MP Jaisiddeshwar Shivacharya Mahaswamiji as "invalid", a case of cheating and forgery was registered against the seer-turned- politician here in Maharashtra on Thursday, an official said.
On February 24, the district caste validity committee invalidated Swami's caste certificate and directed that a case be filed against the parliamentarian. The Solapur Lok Sabha seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
One Pramod Gaikwad had complained to the committee that Swami, in his affidavit submitted for the 2019 general elections, had falsely mentioned that he belonged to the 'beda jangam' community, which falls in the SC category.
Gaikwad had claimed Swami was actually a Hindu Lingayat and sought a detailed probe into his caste certificate.
The three-member committee, led by Dnyaneshwar Sul, after a detailed probe, had said Swami did not belong to the beda jangam community and declared his certificate as "invalid and forged".
The panel had directed district authorities to file a case against the 63-year-old spiritual leader in a magistrate court under provisions of the Caste Certificate Act, 2000, and relevant sections of the IPC.
"As per orders from the court, we have registered a case against Swamiji under IPC sections 420 (cheating) 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating ), 471 (using as genuine a forged document ) and relevant sections of the Caste Certificate Act, 2000," said a senior official from the Sadar Bazar police station here.
The complaint in this regard was registered in the court of judicial magistrate by Balasaheb Baban Shirsath, the officiating tehsildar of Akkalkot town in Solapur district.
He said besides Swami, officials from the revenue department in Akkalkot and Umraga in Osmanabad district were named in the complaint.
Swami had defeated Congress heavyweight and former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde by over 1.5 lakh votes.