NEW DELHI: In a case of life imitating art, a businessman posed as a slum-dweller — like the Walled City couple in the film, ‘Hindi Medium’ — to get his son admitted to
Sanskriti School in
Chanakyapuri in the quota for economically weaker sections. This, however, happened four years ago and apparently no one got the wind of it.
The man,
Gaurav Goel, showed his address as
Sanjay Camp, a slum near Chanakyapuri, for his elder son’s admission in 2013. He put down his annual income as Rs 67,000 by allegedly forging his income documents. The voter cards and birth certificates too were forged. He had told the school that he was working at an MRI centre.
Considering the fact that neither the demeanour of the child, nor interaction with the parents — which must have happened several times over the years — gave away their real identity, it was a perfect plot. The story began to unravel when this year Goel pushed for the admission of his second child under the sibling quota. He realised his overconfidence had made him overreach.
While verifying the antecedents of the elder child, the school authorities found major discrepancies and went to the cops. Goel was arrested from his home in
Jawahar Nagar, near
Kamla Nagar in north Delhi. DCP (New Delhi)
Madhur Verma said they were trying to find out who had helped Goel forge the documents.
The cops found that Goel owns an MRI lab and a wholesale business of selling pulses and has travelled to 20 countries. What made the school suspicious, according to a police officer, was when he told them that they could shift his elder son from EWS to the general category because his economic condition had improved over the years. When he mentioned an apartment as
Safdarjung Enclave as his residence, the school’s suspicion got strengthened. A complaint was registered at the Chanakyapuri police station.
The police had checked MCD, FRRO and IT records which establish that Goel was earning a hefty amount from his businesses. The staff of some government departments is under the scanner as the cops feel they may have helped Goel in procuring the forged documents. Even the address proof he furnished for the admission of the second child was found to be forged.
The school authorities have informed the cops that the child has been removed from the school.
