Secretariat driver gets jail for lying about BMTC job

A suspended BMTC driver who got a job in the legislative assembly secretariat by lying about his date of birth and past experience has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 20,000.

The 8th chief metropolitan magistrate court convicted Y Manjunath, 56, for forging his date of birth and hiding his suspension at the BMTC to get the secretariat job in 2002.

G N Arun, the public prosecutor, argued in the court that Manjunath worked in the BMTC from 1997 until 2002 but was suspended over misconduct. Manjunath hid this fact and applied for the secretariat job on July 30, 2002, by changing his date of birth from November 23, 1962, to August 11, 1962, in the transfer certificate. He also produced a fake experience certificate which stated that he had worked for a private company between 1997 and 2001.

The forgery and the lie came to light three years after he got the secretariat job. The authorities filed a criminal complaint at the Vidhana Soudha police station and sacked him.

Stating that Manjunath cheated the government and inflicted a monetary loss on it, the public prosecutor demanded the strictest punishment and the maximum fine for him. Hearing both the sides, the judge, M Mahesh Babu, convicted Manjunath.