BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab Expresses Shock Over Fake Certificate Racket Operating In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Amid Opposition’s demand for CBI probe over alleged involvement of ruling BJD in fake certificate racket, Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Thursday expressed shock over the scam spreading its tentacle in Odisha.

“We had heard about fake certificate rackets in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand earlier, which had delayed railway recruitment. What is shocking is that a similar racket is also operating in Odisha and several people have got jobs by furnishing fake educational certificates. Most importantly, the fake certificate is depriving the eligible candidates of getting jobs,” he told the media.

The BJD leaders said that the accused should be nabbed and stringent action should be taken against those found guilty. “The Postal department has urged the CBI to initiate a thorough investigation into the scam. The Odisha Crime Branch is already investigating the matter. I learnt from media that no action was taken despite officials drawing the attention of the authorities to the ongoing fraud,” he said, seeking an impartial probe to unravel the truth.

A spokesperson of India Post, Odisha circle, earlier said that the postmaster general has written to the CBI superintendent of police in Bhubaneswar to probe the racket.

Under the Odisha postal circle, 1,380 candidates were shortlisted for the post of GDS this year, the minimum educational qualification for which was Class 10. When the document verification process started, the Balangir postal division found certificates of 38 of total 60 candidates to be fake.

The fraud came to the fore in Balangir district when document verification process for 1,380 candidates shortlisted for the post of GDS under Odisha postal circle began, and the Balangir postal division found certificates of 38 of 60 candidates to be fake. Officials became suspicious when the candidates could not write a word in English despite certificates showing 98-99% marks in Class X, after which they filed a police complaint. All these candidates had got the certificates from Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Sikshya Parishad.

As many as 19 people have so far been arrested in the case and around 1,000 to 5,000 fake certificates seized from a coaching centre named Reliance Education Institute.