Police Complaint Filed Against 4 Teachers For Fake Certificates In Odisha’s Balangir

Rayagada: In a further crackdown on fake certificate racket, separate FIRs have been filed against four school teachers in Odisha’s Rayagada district.

According to sources, the block education officers (BEOs) in the district had started verification of the document furnished by the teachers during their appointment. During the investigation, Kashipur BEO Diptimayee Singh ascertained that four school teachers in the block had produced fake certificates and informed the higher authorities.

The four teachers are Raghunath Mohapatra, Raghunath Bidika, Panjim Majhi, and Sambhu Kar. They were appointed in different schools in 2012 and 2018.

Following further inquiry into the BEO’s report, district education officer (DEO) Purna Chandra Bariha issued order for filing police complaint. Acting on the order, Singh lodged FIRs against the teachers at Kashipur, Doraguda and Tikiri police stations on Thursday.

It may be noted that the state government had ordered a Crime Branch probe into fake certificate racket after it surfaced in Balangir last year. Later, police investigation revealed that the racket was spread across several districts.

Balangir police had arrested 19 persons including the mastermind, Manoj Mishra, in the fake certificate racket. They also seized over 1,000 fake certificates issued in the name of 41 reputed universities.