Bengaluru, July 10: Indian women's T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur in all likelihood will be demoted from her DSP rank in Punjab police after her degree certificate was found to be fake - as per a report in Times of India.
The 29-year-old Harmanpreet had quit Western Railway to join as DSP in Punjab Police earlier this year. She was offered the DSP Spost by Punjab Government after she played a key role in taking India to the final of the Women's World Cup in England in 2017.
"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," ToI 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.
However, Harmanpreet Kaur did not offer any comment on the issue and said: "Will tell you later as I am not feeling well now."
Excited about joining @PunjabPolice as DSP. Thank you Chief Minister @capt_amarinder Ji for pursuing my bond waiver with @RailMinIndia. Your support & encouragement will always keep me motivated to deliver my best. And thank you also @PiyushGoyal Ji for your help in the matter.
— Harmanpreet Kaur (@ImHarmanpreet) February 22, 2018
Harmanpreet had submitted a graduation certificate from Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut at the time of joining the Punjab Police but the university 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 legal action against Harmanpreet 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.
In a similar case in earlier this February, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mandeep Kaur was removed from DSP's post after her graduation degree was found to be fake.