Indian women’s T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been relieved of her Deputy Superintendent of Police rank in Punjab police after her degree certificate was found to be fake, Times of India reported on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old had quit her Western Railway job to take over as DSP in Punjab Police earlier this year. She was offered the post by Punjab government after she played a key role in taking India to the final of the Women’s World Cup in England.
However, the Moga native was under scrutiny after it emerged that the degree certificate she had submitted could be fake and the government finally decided to take action after thorough investigation.
“The state government has written to Harmanpreet that since now her qualification can only be treated as Class XII, she can at best be retained by Punjab Police as constable,” the paper quoted a senior government functionary in Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s office.
According to the state government rules, only graduate sportspersons can be considered for Class I level postings.
Harmanpreet had submitted a graduation certificate from Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut at the time of joining but the varsity had recently informed the Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar, that the role number on the marksheet does not exist in their records.
The Punjab government, however, is not contemplating any legal action against the cricketer as she is a player of international repute. If they do file an FIR, Harmanpreet may even lose her Arjuna Award and other government benefits.