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Odisha CID takes up probe in fake marksheet scam
Thirty-eight candidates in Odisha’s Bolangir district were found to have submitted fake matric marksheet printed at a coaching centre for getting extra-departmental jobs in postal department
More than a week after 38 candidates in Odisha’s Bolangir district were found to have submitted fake matric marksheet printed at a coaching centre for getting extra-departmental jobs in postal department, the Odisha government has ordered a CID probe into the scam.
Odisha director general of police (DGP) Sunil Bansal said CID would now take over the probe due to the inter-district and inter-state ramifications of the case. “A dedicated team has been formed to investigate all aspects of the scam. The team will visit Uttar Pradesh as the marksheets were mostly from secondary boards of that state,” said Bansal.
Early this week, the Bolangir police arrested 19 persons including prime accused Manoj Mishra and his associate Alok Udgata, who allegedly manufactured and sold fake certificates of more than 40 Indian boards and universities to hundreds of job aspirants spread across the state. Police seized 5,000 fake certificates of school and college boards of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, New Delhi and Jharkhand.
Police found that since 2016, Mishra had been printing fake marksheets and certificates of Jharkhand State Open School, Dr.Bahasaheba Ambedkar Technological University, Devi Ahalya Biswa Vidyalaya, Indore, Sunrise University of Rajasthan, Choudhury Charan Singh University of Meerut, CMJ University of Meghalaya and dozens of other colleges and universities using high quality paper and printers.
The racket was busted last week when 38 of the 83 candidates selected for various posts under Grameen Dak Seva in Bolangir postal division this year were detected with fake certificates. All the 38 who had secured 98-99 per cent marks in matric produced the marksheet and certificates of Uttar Pradesh Secondary Board of year 2000. However, when the postal authorities asked them to sign their names in English and write simple words, all of them fumbled triggering suspicion over the authenticity of their documents. Unlike the postal assistants who are recruited through entrance examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission, Grameen Dak Seva postmasters and mail carriers are selected on the basis of their matric marks as Class 10 knowledge is enough to rural branches.
The case took a political turn with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi alleging that main accused Mishra was close to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Majhi alleged that Mishra was running the racket under government patronage and several BJD leaders were involved.
Congress MLA Narasingha Mishra alleged that a BJD MLA used to visit the house of the prime accused. However, BJD MLA Bhagirathi Sethi denied the charges saying no BJD leader was involved in the fake certificate racket.
