Odisha Postal circle recommends CBI probe into fake certificate scam

Fake certificate Odisha

OP file photo

Bhubaneswar: With more and more fake certificate incidents coming to the fore, the Indian Post, Odisha Circle has urged the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into the case.

The Post Master General (PMG) has written a letter to the CBI SP, Bhubaneswar to probe  the fake certificate racket, a spokesperson of the department said.

The postal department found that some of the certificates submitted by the candidates for the job of Gram Dak Seva (GDS) were fake. The fake certificates and marksheets are used by some candidates to avail jobs in the postal department, he said.

The postal department has selected around 1,100 candidates for the post of postmaster and assistant postmaster under the GDS based on the marks secured by the candidates in the Class 10 Board examination. No written or viva tests are required for the selection of candidates.

The incidents of fraud came to the fore in Bolangir district when the department began verifying the certificates of the applicants. As many as 37 candidates were found to have secured 98 per cent marks in the Class-10 examination. All these candidates availed the certificates from Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Sikshya Parishad. This prompted the department to verify the certificates of all the candidates.

Even though the candidate secured 98 per cent of marks in English language, was found unable to write an application properly, a postal department official said.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has entrusted the investigation of the matter to the Crime Branch of state Police. However, since the matter is linked to several states, the postal department preferred a CBI probe into the incident, the official said.

The Bolangir police have arrested 19 persons including the owner of a coaching centre on charge of running a fake certificate racket in the state. Apart from Bolangir, fake certificate incidents have also been reported from Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and some other districts. The fake certificates were suspected to have been mostly used in postal department and education department recruitment.

Meanwhile, the Odisha’s Elementary Education Director Jyoti Ranjan Mishra asked all the BEOs (Block education officer) and the DEOs (district education officers to submit detailed reports on use of fake certificates in recruitment of teachers.

PTI

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