In an incident that created a flutter at the Andhra Pradesh secretariat in Velagapudi, a man seeking a job forged the signature of state Tourism Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya, and then met her with the same letter.
After meeting the Minister with the fabricated letter, the man complained that her orders were not being followed by officials.
The man was identified as 'Ali', who claimed to be a TDP supporter, and came armed with a 'recommendation letter' by Akhila that prescribed a job for him.
The Times of India reported that he first approached the Minister's office with the letter and asked officials to recruit him. However, the officials were unaware of the letter, and asked him to meet the Minister directly.
Following this, he created a scene in the office by shouting at the officials, ToI reported.
When the man approached Akhila Priya itself with the letter, she realised that it was forged.
“He had approached me a couple of times earlier in Nandyal and Allagadda (the minister’s hometown) and I had said I will look into his request. Suddenly he came to my chamber today with the letter. I scrutinised it and realised it was not my signature and the seal was fake,” Akhila Priya told media persons on Wednesday.
“I alerted the officials and asked them to give a stern warning to the person. No action will be taken against him, but the officials have been asked to warn him sufficiently against repeating such acts. I also asked my department secretary not to honour any such letters,” she added.