On 20 May, AAP leader and Delhi education minister Atishi removed the link to her website from her Twitter bio after the content in it was found to be altered. The website atishi.in now shows a letter from someone who is waiting to join as a Computer Science teacher in the Department of Education in Delhi.
The website originally hosted news and events related to Atishi, along with photographs. But only the plain text webpage is seen on the site. The letter says that the person was selected for the post by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board and the relevant dossier was sent to the Department of Education (DOE) a year ago, there is no update from the department.
It states that it is not an isolated incident, and several candidates are facing similar situations, as their files are kept on hold and no information has been provided. The letter further alleges that this is a ‘deficiency scam’, where officials are claiming deficiencies in the documents of the candidates, and demanding money to clear the ‘deficiency’. It states that the selected candidates are getting calls on WhatsApp from a man demanding money.
“I have call recordings and other strong evidence that proves there are corrupt officers in DOE,” the letter states.
The letter also says that it takes 10-12 years to get a job in DOE of the Delhi govt, adding “I urge you to immediately ask DOE why it takes so long for the selection process and to take steps to address this issue.”
The text on the website says, “This is a matter of serious concern and requires your attention,” requesting to look into this matter and take necessary action to address these issues.
The letter states:
I am writing to bring to your attention a serious issue I am facing regarding my joining as a TGT(91/20) Computer Science teacher in the Department of Education(DOE) of Delhi. Although I was selected for the position by the DSSSB and my dossier was forwarded to DOE almost a year ago, I have not yet joined my post. I was informed by the DOE of some deficiencies in my application, which I successfully addressed. However, since then, I have not received any updates or outcomes from the DOE. As a result, I have been suffering for the past one year, and for over three years since I first applied for this post(91/20).
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, as there are many selected candidates whose files are on hold, and the department has not informed them of any notice. It appears to be a part of a deficiency scam run by DOE. I urge you to investigate this matter and ask the DOE how many deficiencies they have given to selected candidates and why they have not uploaded this information to the DOE official website. After candidates successfully submit the required documents, their deficiencies are not removed, and no notice is given. However, selected candidates receive a WhatsApp call from a man demanding money (10-12 lakh) to clear the deficiency. I have call recordings and other strong evidence that proves there are corrupt officers in DOE.
Furthermore, it has come to my attention that some corrupt officers and staff were transferred earlier from E-IV Branch, but the issues they created have not been solved to date. It takes candidates 10-13 years to get a job in DOE, which is too long. I urge you to immediately ask DOE why it takes so long for the selection process and to take steps to address this issue.
DOE staff misguide the RTI Act and do not provide any information in RTI. This is a matter of serious concern and requires your attention.
I sincerely request you to look into this matter and take necessary action to address these issues. Thank you for taking the time to read This.
At first glance, it appears that the website was hacked by someone selected for the post of computer teacher in Delhi. But a basic analysis of the domain reveals that it was registered only a month ago, on 22 April. But the website of Atishi is in existence for a long time, and the earliest archive of the website is from October 2018.
This suggests that the domain name Atishi.in expired some time ago, and the Delhi education minister or her team failed to renew it on time. Someone could have seen this opportunity, bought the domain, and uploaded the text on the website. Therefore, this could be a simple case of buying an expired domain, and not hacking.
If that is the case, it will be difficult for Atishi to recover the domain name atishi.in.
Atishi was made the education minister of Delhi after former minister Manish Sisodia was arrested in the Delhi excise policy scam case.
