Barwani medical officer faces fake caste certificate charges:No action taken after panel report; doctor defends documents as valid

A major controversy has surfaced over the caste certificate of Medical Officer Dr Rajesh Gupta, posted in Barwani. In its January 27 decision, the state-level scrutiny committee said the certificate submitted by him is “doubtful” and should not be validated. Despite this, Dr Gupta continues to serve in his position. The committee noted that the ‘Bhunjia’ tribal certificate he submitted is not officially recognized in Madhya Pradesh, as the community is primarily found in parts of Chhattisgarh. Dr Gupta has challenged the committee’s findings by filing an appeal in the High Court. Understand the full story Dr. Rajesh Gupta joined government service in the year 2004. He has previously served as CMHO in Agar Malwa. Currently, he is posted as Medical Officer in Barwani. In 2018, his department received a complaint regarding his caste certificate. The complaint was filed by Mahesh Sharma, a resident of Ujjain. The department referred the case of the suspicious tribal caste certificate to the State High-Level Scrutiny Committee. In its report this year, the committee mentioned that Dr. Gupta claimed to have a tribal caste certificate dated March 31, 1990, issued by the SDM office Mahidpur, whereas the concerned office denied issuing any such certificate. In his educational documents, his caste is recorded as Bhujwa. This falls under Other Backward Class (OBC) under Kanya Kubja Vaishya. Key Observations of the Committee Commissioner Tarun Rathi of the committee has made observations based on the investigation report- Ujjain Commissioner had also conducted an investigation Before this committee, in 2018, the then Ujjain Commissioner M.B. Ojha’s investigation also found his caste certificate to be false. The Commissioner had written then – Gupta’s father Bherulal Gupta, being a retired teacher, is registered in the caste Bhujwa Backward Class as a pensioner in the Treasury and Accounts Department, Ujjain. Therefore, the Scheduled Tribe certificate presented by Dr. Gupta is fake and false. The Bhujwa caste is notified by the Madhya Pradesh Government in the OBC section. Committee did not receive police reports in more than 70 cases Under the Tribal Affairs Department, more than 70 such cases have been registered between 2020 and 2025, in which no decision could be made so far due to non-receipt of police officers’ reports. This includes cases related to officers and employees working in various positions such as Assistant Forest Conservator, Lab Technician, and Junior Engineer of the Electricity Company. The state of procrastination is such that 32 files are being continuously pushed forward by saying ‘will be kept in the next meeting’ in each meeting. These include cases of Naib Tehsildar and Assistant Section Officers of the Tribal Affairs Department. Additionally, show cause notices have been issued to eight officers, but even after years have passed, their responses have not been received. 63 fake certificates cancelled, 60 found genuine Progress report of cases investigated by the high-level scrutiny committee regarding Scheduled Tribe certificates between the years 2020 to 2025- Dr. said- My documents are correct, it is a false complaint Dr. Rajesh Gupta, posted as Medical Officer in Barwani, claimed that his documents are correct and some people are making false complaints. He has gone to the High Court against the inquiry committee’s decision.
He says that the inquiry committee did not properly hear his side and gave this decision. Dr. Gupta also stated that he had taken action against a clinic in Agar Malwa. Due to that grudge, some people are making complaints. After the court’s decision, I will also take legal action against them.