The city police arrested two persons in connection with a forgery in which the prime accused had forged the chief minister’s signature in a recommendation letter for the transfer of a woman teacher from Kanyakumari.
A few days ago, while transfer counselling was in progress, the education department had received a letter stating that a teacher Ponnila from Kanyakumari was pregnant and wished to be transferred from Sivagangai to Kanyakumari. Along with it came a letter from the chief minister recommending the transfer.
The officials grew suspicious as the chief minister’s signature was in English and not in Tamil.
Their suspicions were confirmed when one Prince Edward came with a copy of the letter and demanded authoritatively to know if any action was taken on the letter. The officials informed the Nungambakkam police who rushed to the spot and detained Edward.
“The accused owns a printing press in Border Thottam and had forged the letter and taken the help of one Murali who provided him with rubber stamps with the government seal,” police said.
Police arrested Prince Edward and Murali and investigations revealed that the accused had done this as a favour for a church priest in Kanyakumari.
“We raided his place and are interrogating him to find out if he had been carrying out similar forgeries in the name of any other people,” said a senior police official.