Officer ‘dismissed’ from welfare dept is AAP’s intellectual cell member

LAKHA SINGH TOOR WAS SACKED AFTER IT WAS FOUND HE CHANGED YEAR OF HIS BIRTH FROM 1955 TO 1958 AT TIME OF RECRUITMENT

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has appointed a dismissed additional director of social welfare department, Punjab, Lakha Singh Toor as a member in its state intellectual cell. He was dismissed from service in May 2016 for tampering with his date of birth and his Class 10 certificates.

As per information gathered by HT, Toor was dismissed after it was found that he changed the year of his birth from 1955 to 1958 at time of recruitment in service. The matter came to the notice of the department in 201011, and a departmental inquiry was done. He was found guilty in an inquiry and was given premature retirement in 2013, when he had completed 58 years of age as per his actual birth year.

Toor challenged the decision in Punjab and Haryana high court. Subsequently, the high court asked a sitting IAS officer to do an inquiry, who too indicted Toor of wrongdoing in his May 2016 report.

Toor was then dismissed from service with retrospective effect from May 2013. Sources say a civil writ petition related to the matter is pending in the high court.

Convener of intellectual wing of AAP Harkesh Singh Sidhu confirmed that Toor was recently appointed as a member of the cell, but was not aware that he was dismissed. “I will look into the matter and take appropriate step,” he added. On being contacted, Toor said he was out of town and not aware that he has been appointed member of AAP’s intellectual cell. On being asked about the case, he said the high court had stayed his dismissal.