Former Indian hockey player N Mukesh Kumar, a three-time Olympian, has been found guilty of obtaining a false Scheduled Caste ‘A’ Mala certificate, reported The Times of India on Thursday.
The report quoted the Scheduled Castes Development Department’s government order to the Hyderabad collector “to take immediate action” on Mukesh and the officials involved in issuing the certificate.
Mukesh has represented India in three Olympics at Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 1995 and the Padma Shri in 2003.
Mukesh’s brother, Suresh, too was guilty of the same offence, it said.
In 2007, the chief manager (vigilance) of Indian Airlines (IA) Limited, Chennai had initiated an official hearing following claims by IA officials that Mukesh and Suresh did not belong to the SC community.
The manager had also asked the then district collector of Hyderabad, Navin Mittal, to enquire the matter. The brothers, who were found to be guilty, filed an appeal against the collector’s order.
But in the hearing that took place on Wednesday, Buddha Prakash Jyoti, secretary to government upheld the former collector’s order and dismissed the brothers’ appeal.