India News | BJP, Cong Demand CBI Probe into Fake Certificate Racket
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The opposition BJP and Congress Tuesday alleged that the ruling BJD is involved in the alleged fake certificate racket in Odisha and demanded that the Naveen Patnaik government hand over the probe into it to CBI.
Bhubaneswar, Apr 11 (PTI) The opposition BJP and Congress Tuesday alleged that the ruling BJD is involved in the alleged fake certificate racket in Odisha and demanded that the Naveen Patnaik government hand over the probe into it to CBI.
The demand was made hours after the Odisha circle of India Post recommended a probe by the central agency into the alleged racket.
The BJD refuted the allegation and said the state police have always proved its professionalism.
A large number of candidates have allegedly got government jobs in the postal and education departments in the state by using fake certificates. The crime branch has been investigating the case and 19 people have been arrested in Bolangir, suspected to be the epicenter of the fake certificate racket.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal came down heavily on the state government and alleged involvement of ruling BJD leaders in the fake certificate racket.
"How does the government not know of the racket when it has its agencies in all nooks and corners of the state?" he asked and ridiculed the BJD government for remaining silent on it.
"It is because of this silence of the BJD government that the racket has flourished in Odisha," he claimed.
It has pushed the future of meritorious students into darkness. Any probe by the crime branch cannot do justice as the fraudulent activity is linked to different states, he said.
Only a thorough probe by CBI will unravel the truth and stringent action should be taken against those found guilty by it, the BJP leader insisted.
Joining forces with him Congress leader Suresh Routray alleged that the racket appears to have flourished under the patronage of BJD leaders and Patnaik should order a CBI probe to catch the kingpin and others involved in it.
A CBI investigation can ascertain how many fake certificates have been sold and how much money was transacted, he said.
BJD leader and government chief whip Prashant Muduli rejecting the allegations said that Odisha police have always proved its investigating skill and professionalism.
“Opposition parties should have patience as the investigation is being carried out in the right manner. The truth will be revealed and the culprits will be punished,” he said.
Earlier in the day a spokesperson of India Post, Odisha circle, said the postmaster general has written to the CBI superintendent of police in Bhubaneswar to probe the racket.
The postal department has found that certificates submitted by some of the candidates for the job of gram dak seva (GDS) were fake.
The department selected around 1,100 candidates for the posts 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 had got the certificates from Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Sikshya Parishad, which prompted the department to verify them.
The candidates were found to be unable to write an application properly even though their certificates showed that they had secured 98 per cent marks in English language, a postal department spokesperson said.
The Bolangir police have arrested 19 people, including the owner of a coaching center on the charge of running a fake certificate racket in Odisha. Apart from Bolangir, fake certificate incidents have also been reported from Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and several other districts.
The fake certificates are suspected to have been mostly used in postal department and education department recruitment.
Meanwhile, the elementary education department director Jyoti Ranjan Mishra has asked all the block education officers and district education officers to submit detailed reports on the use of fake certificates in the recruitment of teachers.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)