Man arrested for making, selling fake COVID-19 reports, passports in Bengaluru
Anekal: Hulimavu Police on Thursday arrested a person on charges of running a scandal of fake COVID-19 test reports and fake passports.
The arrested accused has been identified as Nipunn (30), a resident of Trissur in Kerala.
According to the reports, the accused was running his business from a house near Hulmavu here. Nipunn reportedly used to work as an agent to get college admissions to students but owing to lockdown and COVID restrictions his business had stopped.
Prompted by the situation and financial constraints, Nipunn started making faking COVID test reports and fake passports, police said.
Police further added that Nipunn used to interact with his clients through Facebook and WhatsApp to make fake COVID test reports and passports and after an online transfer of money he would hand over the document to the clients.
He reportedly used to charge a sum of Rs. 2000 – 5000 per fake COVID test report and Rs 25,000 – 5,00,000 for a fake passport.
Several fake reports, laptops, and machines were seized from the accused after his arrest.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
