This is the ultimate irony.
The wife of a state education minister apparently got an unidentified woman to sit for her final masters exam. Unfortunately for her, it seems that the impersonator was caught midway, and had to leave the exam hall in a hurry.
But not before the invigilators were able to get a photograph of the lady.
On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh Education Minister and BJP leader Kedar Kashyap’s wife, Shanti Kashyap, allegedly got another person to sit for her MA English final exam. The woman reportedly showed up at the government school in Lohandiguda block of Bastar district which was the exam centre, and was halfway through writing the answers when she suddenly left midway. According to a Rajasthan Patrika report, when the woman was confronted during the exam, she first claimed to be Kashyap herself. She was reportedly allowed to write the full exam and then escorted out by police.
The exam was on "English Language Study", the fourth and final exam in the MA English course. She allegedly appeared for Kashyap in the previous three exams as well.
The exam superintendent has submitted a report and the woman's photographs to an internal committee probing the incident. Now the hunt is on to find her.
Bansgopal Singh, vice chancellor of Sundar Lal Sharma Open University which was conducting the exam, has confirmed that an impersonator took the exam instead of Kashyap, though he has declined to comment who that may be, reports say.
“Our superintendent has said that someone appeared on her (Shanti) behalf and left midway. We are examining the offence. We have sent our team to the spot. Since it is in a remote area, they are likely to reach by tonight,” he said. “We have received the photographs of a woman writing the exam. We are verifying who she is."
Interestingly, reports suggest that the university staff actually knew that Kashyap was using a proxy to give her exams.
Ramesh Nage, the in-charge of the centre, told Patrika that the staff had no choice but to keep quiet "owing to pressure from higher authorities".
![shanti kashyap]()
Shanti Kashyap's admit card for the MA English exams
Meanwhile Chitrakot MLA Deepak Baij told The Indian Express that he was sure the impersonator was Kashyap's sister, as he knew the family well. “I am hundred-and-one per cent sure that she is Kiran Mourya, sister-in-law of Kedar Kashyap. I know them well. I challenge them to refute me.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the exam centre supervisor, Hem Rao, had said that he didn't know who wrote the exam for Kashyap but confirmed that whoever had appeared for her was an impersonator.
Meanwhile rival parties called for the minister's resignation over the issue, with PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel saying, “If the wife of the education minister is using such means for her exam, the minister and the government have no right to rule. This could not have been possible without the involvement of top persons in the government. Kashyap and Raman Singh should immediately resign.”
Leader of Opposition T S Sinhadev meanwhile has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Chief Minister Raman Singh, demanding Kashyap’s immediate resignation. The Congress also held protests in different parts of the state. “The CM is setting a very bad precedent. The wife of the education minister is found to be involved in such a case, but the government has no concern for morals,” said Sinhadev.
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The wife of a state education minister apparently got an unidentified woman to sit for her final masters exam. Unfortunately for her, it seems that the impersonator was caught midway, and had to leave the exam hall in a hurry.
But not before the invigilators were able to get a photograph of the lady.
On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh Education Minister and BJP leader Kedar Kashyap’s wife, Shanti Kashyap, allegedly got another person to sit for her MA English final exam. The woman reportedly showed up at the government school in Lohandiguda block of Bastar district which was the exam centre, and was halfway through writing the answers when she suddenly left midway. According to a Rajasthan Patrika report, when the woman was confronted during the exam, she first claimed to be Kashyap herself. She was reportedly allowed to write the full exam and then escorted out by police.
The exam was on "English Language Study", the fourth and final exam in the MA English course. She allegedly appeared for Kashyap in the previous three exams as well.
The exam superintendent has submitted a report and the woman's photographs to an internal committee probing the incident. Now the hunt is on to find her.
Bansgopal Singh, vice chancellor of Sundar Lal Sharma Open University which was conducting the exam, has confirmed that an impersonator took the exam instead of Kashyap, though he has declined to comment who that may be, reports say.
“Our superintendent has said that someone appeared on her (Shanti) behalf and left midway. We are examining the offence. We have sent our team to the spot. Since it is in a remote area, they are likely to reach by tonight,” he said. “We have received the photographs of a woman writing the exam. We are verifying who she is."
Interestingly, reports suggest that the university staff actually knew that Kashyap was using a proxy to give her exams.
Ramesh Nage, the in-charge of the centre, told Patrika that the staff had no choice but to keep quiet "owing to pressure from higher authorities".
Shanti Kashyap's admit card for the MA English exams
Meanwhile Chitrakot MLA Deepak Baij told The Indian Express that he was sure the impersonator was Kashyap's sister, as he knew the family well. “I am hundred-and-one per cent sure that she is Kiran Mourya, sister-in-law of Kedar Kashyap. I know them well. I challenge them to refute me.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the exam centre supervisor, Hem Rao, had said that he didn't know who wrote the exam for Kashyap but confirmed that whoever had appeared for her was an impersonator.
Meanwhile rival parties called for the minister's resignation over the issue, with PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel saying, “If the wife of the education minister is using such means for her exam, the minister and the government have no right to rule. This could not have been possible without the involvement of top persons in the government. Kashyap and Raman Singh should immediately resign.”
Leader of Opposition T S Sinhadev meanwhile has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Chief Minister Raman Singh, demanding Kashyap’s immediate resignation. The Congress also held protests in different parts of the state. “The CM is setting a very bad precedent. The wife of the education minister is found to be involved in such a case, but the government has no concern for morals,” said Sinhadev.
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