Fake degree: No action against woman cricketer Harmanpreet
Chandigarh, July 10: The Punjab government will remove woman cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur the DSP's post for submitting a fake degree, but will not initiate any criminal proceedings against her, informed sources said on Tuesday.
Government and police sources said no criminal proceedings for forgery and cheating were in the offing against the Indian T20 women cricket team captain. The graduation certificate submitted by her to fulfil the eligibility criterion for becoming a Punjab Police DSP was found to be fake.
Enquiries by Punjab Police with the Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut had revealed that Harmanpreet's graduation degree was not genuine and in fact she was never enrolled as a varsity student.
The state has now offered her a constable's post on the basis of her Class 12 pass certificate.
Harmanpreet was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police on March 1, with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Director General of Police Suresh Arora pinning the stars on her uniform.
The Chief Minister had offered the DSP's post to Harmanpreet, who hails from Moga district, in July last year, following her scintillating performance in the Women's World Cup 2017.
Amarinder Singh had said that the Parkash Singh Badal government's refusal to accede to her request to join Punjab Police was an "injustice" to her.
Harmanpreet was earlier employed with the Railways as a Superintendent.
Amarinder Singh had intervened to seek a waiver for her from a bond signed with the Railways to enable her to join as DSP in Punjab. The state had, in February, received a formal communication from the Railways about the waiver.
The woman cricketer, who is leaving for England, has not reacted in detail, telling the media that she has no idea about the controversy over her degree.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
