VELLORE: A village panchayat president is under scrutiny for allegedly forging her caste certificate and bagging the post during the rural local body polls held in October 2021.
The Tholappali panchayat president post at Anaicut Taluk in Vellore had been allotted to the Scheduled Caste (General) community. Kalpana Suresh bagged 609 votes and won the election while K Backiaraj, who secured 527 votes, finished as runner-up. However, Backiaraj alleged that Kalpana Suresh belongs to a caste Hindu community and had contested the polls using a forged certificate.
Backiaraj also submitted a petition to District Collector P Kumaravel Pandian on the issue. A district-level committee took up the complaint and scrutinised the credibility of the certificate. It found that the certificate obtained by Kalpana was fake, sources said.
Backiaraj, who on April 11 had also filed a police complaint against Kalpana, told TNIE: “The panel communicated to me in the first week of April that the certificate was fake.” Meanwhile, official sources said the Collector will be sending a letter this week to the State Election Commission for further action.
Allegation
K Backiaraj, who finished runner-up in the election, had alleged that Kalpana Suresh, the winner, belongs to a caste Hindu community and contested the polls using a forged certificate