Siddharth Nagar, March 20 (IANS): Four education department employees, including the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), have been booked for the appointment of Urdu teachers on forged documents in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar, said officials on Wednesday.

The FIR was lodged on Tuesday after a probe by UP STF found their involvement in irregularities.

The accused allegedly facilitated postings of suspended teachers in the district by forging signatures of senior officials and even granted affiliation to non-existent schools.

The accused have been identified as BSA Devendra Kumar Pandey, block education officer Kunwar Vikram Pandey, and clerks Mukul Mishra and Shiv Sagar Choubey.

Superintendent of Police Prachi Singh said that the former BSA of Siddharth Nagar submitted a complaint to ADG, STF, Amitabh Yash, in which he raised concerns over irregularities in Urdu teachers’ recruitment and issuance of appointment letters.

He said that despite repeated complaints to the authorities concerned, no action was taken to initiate investigation.

“Other allegations included grant of recognition to certain schools through fake signatures, and forgery of appointment letters and salary payment orders. A subsequent report from the district basic education officer confirmed that recognition of 15 schools was doubtful as related documents were missing from the office,” the SP said.

The complainant alleged that the accused junior clerk involved in the activities was being protected by the BSA and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.

The SP said that prima facie the allegations were found to be correct and an FIR was lodged. “Further investigation is on,” she said.