The Maldivian authorities have initiated procedures to blacklist an Indian man employed as a teacher in the Maldives after he was apprehended in India on allegations of certificate forgery.
The suspect, identified as Abin C Raj, was working as an economics teacher for Grade 9 students at Kalaafaanu School in Male. Raj was in the Maldives when Kerala police, who are investigating the certificate forgery case, obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Deputy Minister of Education, Ahmed Ihsan, stated that they became aware of the Indian authorities’ search for Raj after he had already purchased his ticket to return home for the annual holidays. He said the Police and Immigration were immediately notified upon learning this information, but Raj had already left the country before they could take any action. However, the Maldives Police promptly notified the Indian authorities about his departure. The Kerala police intercepted and arrested Raj upon his arrival at Kochi airport on Monday.
The Education Ministry says it is now in the process of terminating Raj’s contract and is working with the Maldives Immigration to blacklist him.
The case involves Raj allegedly selling a counterfeit certificate for Rs200,000.00 to a man named Nikhil Thomas, who happened to be his colleague in the Student Federation of India (SFI). The alleged fraud was exposed when someone reported the matter to Kerala police following a personal dispute with Thomas. Thomas, in his statement to the investigators, affirmed that Raj was the person who sold him the fabricated certificate from Kalinga University.
