IMD scientist Medha Vinayak Khole files complaint against cook in Pune for lying about her caste

A scientist from Pune, Maharashtra, filed a police complaint against her cook for “impersonating” as a Brahmin since May 2016 while allegedly lying about her caste, according to media reports. [caption id=“attachment_1560471” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. AFP[/caption] The government scientist, Dr Medha Vinayak Khole, who is deputy director general for weather forecasting at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), alleged that a woman named Nirmala Kulkarni, a resident of Dhayari, had approached her for the job and said she was a Brahmin and married. Khole claimed she had specified she needed a female married Brahmin cook for religious events such as “Sowala”, death anniversary of her parents and the Gauri Ganpati festival, reported  Hindustan Times.  It was later that Khole discovered from a local priest that the cook was not a Brahmin. She went to check for herself and visited Kulkarni’s house in Dhayari to confront her and found that her real name was Nirmala Yadav and that she was unmarried. Khole also alleged that Nirmala abused and manhandled her. The police tried to dissuade Khole from filing an impersonation case against the cook, reported  The Indian Express, but to no avail. The police registered a complaint under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise on grave provocation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). When contacted by The Indian Express, assistant police inspector Jyoti Gadkari, who is heading the investigation, said, “An FIR has been lodged on the basis of allegations made by the complainant. Further action will be taken as per the outcome of the investigation.”