Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh: An alleged fake certificate trail has emerged in a government tender process in Agra, where two Lucknow-based firms are accused of submitting experience certificates purportedly issued by the Aligarh Basic Education Department. A departmental inquiry found alleged forged and copied signatures, identical experience numbers and, crucially, no record of either certificate in the department’s official dispatch register.
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The case involves Hariom Enterprises, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, and Deepkaun Manpower Services Pvt Ltd, Indira Nagar, Lucknow.
According to the investigation, Hariom Enterprises submitted an experience certificate claiming that it had supplied 19,305 desks and benches for students of Classes 3 to 5 across 1,021 council schools in Aligarh.
The alleged supply was stated to have been carried out through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal for ₹12,58,67,905, with the certificate describing the work as satisfactory.
Signature on Hariom Enterprises Certificate Allegedly Forged
When officials examined the certificate, questions arose over whether it had actually been issued by the Aligarh Basic Education Department.
The document carried the signature of the official who was serving as the Basic Education Officer in Aligarh on the date mentioned on the certificate. However, the departmental inquiry allegedly found that the signature was forged, while official records contained no evidence that the certificate had been issued by the department.
Second Firm’s Certificate Also Raises Questions
A similar discrepancy was allegedly found in the experience certificate submitted by Deepkaun Manpower Services.
Investigators found that the signature of the concerned official on the document was allegedly copied and pasted. More significantly, the certificates submitted by both firms reportedly carried the same experience number, raising further questions about their authenticity and independent issuance.
Dispatch Register Reveals Missing Government Record
Officials then checked the original departmental records, including the office dispatch register, to determine whether the two certificates had ever been officially issued and sent to the firms.
No entry corresponding to either experience certificate was reportedly found in the register. The absence of dispatch records meant there was no supporting government record showing that the certificates had been officially issued by the Aligarh Basic Education Office or dispatched to the firms.
Department Orders Legal Action
Following the inquiry, the Basic Education Department treated the matter as serious and directed that legal action be initiated against both firms.
The Basic Education Officer instructed the district coordinator for construction to initiate the process for registration of a case. The allegations involve the purported use of government officials’ names, signatures and departmental details to create documents that were subsequently submitted during a government tender process in another district.
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Police to Trace Who Prepared the Certificates
The police investigation is expected to focus on who allegedly prepared the certificates, how the official signatures and departmental details were obtained and how the documents were introduced into the Agra tender process.
Investigators may also examine whether the two firms had any connection with each other and whether other individuals were involved in preparing, supplying or using the alleged forged documents.
Did the Alleged Fake Certificates Secure a Tender Benefit?
Another key question is whether the alleged certificates resulted in any actual benefit for either firm during the tender process or were submitted only to establish eligibility.
For now, departmental verification has found no supporting record for the issuance of either certificate in the official dispatch register. The findings have led to legal proceedings against the two Lucknow-based firms, while the police investigation will determine the wider circumstances and responsibility for the alleged forgery.
What This Means For You: Government tenders rely heavily on documents such as experience certificates to establish whether a bidder meets eligibility requirements. The case shows why certificates submitted in procurement processes need to be independently verified against issuing authority records rather than being accepted solely on the basis of the document presented by a bidder.
The420 Insight: The dispatch register could prove to be one of the most important pieces of evidence in this case because it provides an administrative trail for documents officially issued by the department. The combination of allegedly forged signatures, an identical experience number and the absence of dispatch records could help investigators determine whether the certificates were fabricated specifically for the tender process.
About the author — Ananya Aradhya writes on cybercrime, fraud, scams, cybersecurity, digital safety, and emerging threats. Her work also covers major criminal cases, financial frauds, consumer scams, and stories that highlight risks affecting people in the real and digital world.
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