Patiala: Local lawyer booked for conspiring to defame president of school management society

PATIALA: The district police have registered a case against a local lawyer and his three associates on charges of conspiring to defame the president of a local charitable school management society by levelling a false accusation against him in Patiala. The case has been registered against lawyer Harvinder Sharma Rana, Brahm Prakash (bother former members of the school management society) Gurnam Singh and Ajay Kumar under the sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to Vipin Sharma, President of the Veer Hakikat Rai School Management who is also the secretary of the Rajindra Gymkhana and Maharani Club, Harvinder Sharma Rana and his associates hatched a conspiracy to defame him by posting an anonymous letter in which Sharma was accused for sexually exploited a class 10 students of the school.Sharma said that about five months back the accused posted the letter from the head post office in Patiala. The matter was immediately investigated by the police and he was given a clean chit. Unhappy with the development, Rana and his co-conspirators then started circulating the letter on social media, revealed in the investigation by the police.They were picked up for questioning and during interrogation, they revealed the names of Ajay Kumar and Gurnam Singh and also confessed to the crime.He said that Rana, who was earlier president of the Veer Hakikat Rai School management society, had allegedly committed a Rs 22 lakh fraud with the school after which the school management got a case registered against him. Following this, the school management society removed him and Brahm Parkash from society. Sharma said as he took over as president of the society. Rana started mounting pressure on him to withdraw the fraud case. As he refused to do so, Rana conspired along with three others and posted the anonymous letter written by class 10 student of Veer Hakikat Rai School accusing him of having sexually exploited the girl. The letter had been written on behalf of the girl. While investigating the matter, the police stumbled upon CCTV clippings from the head post office Patiala where Rana and Brahm Prakash were seen posting the letter. The police said they have already arrested Brahm Prakash, while the others were still absconding.