Twin Sisters Fooled MP Govt For 18 Years, Drew Rs 1.5 Crore Salary As One Teacher

Twin Sisters Fooled MP Govt For 18 Years, Drew Rs 1.5 Crore Salary As One Teacher

Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, May 08: A major case of fraud has come to light in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district, where a pair of twin sisters managed to work as government school teachers for 18 years using the same identity and academic credentials — a scam that has allegedly cost the state exchequer over Rs 1.5 crore.

What initially appeared to be a coincidence — two teachers with the same name working at different schools — soon unravelled into a calculated impersonation. The twin sisters, both named Rashmi, were drawing salaries independently, yet were operating under one set of mark sheets and degree certificates.

The fraud finally surfaced when both sisters submitted transfer requests to the same school, raising alarms among education officials. On examining the documents, authorities found the applications nearly identical — same name, same degree, and even subject-wise marks that matched perfectly, an impossibility even for identical twins.

A subsequent investigation revealed that only one sister held a legitimate teaching degree, while the other had forged her sister’s mark sheets and secured the job using fake documents. Together, they exploited loopholes in the system to quietly draw salaries for nearly two decades without detection.

According to officials, the sister with fake credentials allegedly withdrew over Rs 80 lakh, while the total salary draw between them crossed Rs 1.5 crore. Once the deception came to light, one sister reportedly resigned, while the other vanished from her post.

Damoh District Education Officer SK Nema confirmed the fraud, noting that one sister had submitted original documents, while the other had provided only Xerox copies. “The discrepancies emerged during a recent document verification process, prompting a deeper inquiry,” he said.

But the shock doesn’t end there. An internal audit by the education department has now revealed a wider scam — at least 19 government teachers in the district were found to have secured jobs using forged documents. Yet, only three have been dismissed so far. The remaining 16 teachers are still drawing salaries, with a total estimated misappropriation of Rs 22.93 crore.

This revelation has sparked widespread outrage, with calls for stricter background checks, biometric attendance systems, and criminal proceedings against those involved in the scam.