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MUMBAI: While NCP minister Nawab Malik on Sunday reiterated that Sameer Wankhede is a Muslim who allegedly forged his caste certificate to get a central government job and National Commission for Scheduled Caste vice-chairman Arun Haldar defended the NCB zonal director, state officials pointed out that there has to be an official complaint for the caste scrunity committee to verify his certificate’s validity.

Social justice minister Dhananjay Munde said,“If the competent authority receives a complaint over Wankhede’s caste certificate, it will be investigated as per rules.” Malik said a complaint is likely to be filed in a day or two.

According to a bureaucrat, while a caste certificate is issued by the sub-divisional officer/deputy collector, it is verified by a high-level committee headed by an officer of the rank of joint secretary or additional collector. It is then validated by the caste scrutiny committee as per the guidelines prescribed by Supreme Court in the Madhuri Patil case.

The bureaucrat said in case of doubt about a person’s caste certificate, the complaint is submitted to the caste scrutiny committee, a quasi-judicial authority. “The committee hears all parties, asks for all relevant certificates and if needed, visits the residence against whom the complaint has been made,” he said. “The social justice department has made the entire procedure very stringent and all cases are disposed of in a time-bound period.”

If the certificate is found to be forged or false, the rule provides for six months’ jail term and fine. “In the central government, caste verification is not mandatory, but the state government is empowered to probe into the caste certificate of a resident of Maharashtra,” the bureaucrat said.

As per reports, Haldar had met Wankhede on Saturday and the latter had shown him all documents. “I feel that he belongs to the SC community and hails from Mahar caste and rose to such a position despite belonging to a poor family,” Haldar said, but was quick to add that he will wait for a report from the state government. Reacting on Haldar’s observations, Malik said it was unfortunate that a person holding a constitutional post, arrived at the conclusion in haste. “We have all the documents and records to establish that Wankhede is a Muslim community and does not belong to a scheduled caste,” he said.