Team Herald
PONDA: Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) Chief Officer Yogiraj Gosavi filed a police complaint after his signature was forged on an official letterhead inorder to obtain admission in a Nursing college.
The forged certificate, reportedly submitted to secure admission to a nursing course at Goa Medical College (GMC), falsely declared an annual income of Rs 2.10 lakh. The Chief Officer emphasised the gravity of the incident, saying, “This is a blatant misuse of official documents. A detailed probe must uncover the culprits and prevent such fraud in the future.”
The forgery came to light when a vigilant PMC staff member noticed discrepancies during a routine application process. A citizen with the surname Prabugaonkar had applied for the renewal of an income certificate to avail of government schemes. As per the rules, the applicant was asked to submit a photocopy of the previous certificate.
The certificate submitted was dated November 4, but upon closer inspection, the staff member found irregularities. The outward number on the document did not match PMC records and was instead linked to another applicant. Additionally, the printed letterhead,
font, and the Chief Officer’s signature appeared inconsistent with authentic PMC documents.
When confronted, the applicant named an individual associated with the PMC as the source of the certificate.
Upon being alerted, Gosavi confirmed that the signature on the document was forged. He y filed a complaint with the Ponda police against the use of fake PMC letterhead, stamps and signatures. He stated, “Forgery of this nature undermines public trust in our institution. Such acts must not go unpunished.”
Ponda PI Vijaynath Kavlekar confirmed the receipt of the complaint and outlined the legal framework for forgery cases. “If forged documents are used to obtain benefits, it constitutes a criminal offence. However, possession of forged documents without using them may not amount to forgery,” he explained.
The police have initiated an inquiry with GMC to ascertain whether the forged income certificate was used for admission purposes.