Burhanpur (Madhya Pradesh): Nepanagar MLA Sumitra Kasdekar, who has been facing allegations over caste certificate for long, is once again under scrutiny. Deputy collector Hemlata Solanki has started a probe into the complaint filed by former local BJP chief Praveen Katkar. Solanki has asked Nepanagar SDM to investigate the complaint and submit report with clear opinion. On December 22, 2022, Katkar had submitted a complaint to the collector alleging that Kasdekar's caste certificate was a fake. On the basis of this certificate, she first contested the last assembly polls on Congress ticket and after one-and-a-half-year again on BJP ticket in the bypoll. She emerged victorious both the times.
A similar case was filed with the local court too, wherein the judge concerned had ordered Khaknar police station to register the case. However, the matter is still pending. Former MLA Manju Dadu had also filed a petition with the Jabalpur High Court, which was rejected due to technical reasons. Praveen Katkar has alleged that the SDM office in Nepanagar did not follow the statutory procedure in issuing the caste certificate. It has been claimed that the certified copy of the file, order related to the caste certificate was sought under the Right to Information Act but was never provided by the SDM office.
