19 arrested in Odisha fake mark sheet scam; inter-state racket suspected - Hindustan Times
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19 arrested in Odisha fake mark sheet scam; inter-state racket suspected

ByDebabrata Mohanty
Mar 28, 2023 10:32 AM IST

Thirty-eight candidates in Odisha’s Bolangir district, who were selected for various jobs in postal department in Grameen Dak Seva, were found to have submitted fake mark sheets and certificates of matric examination

Four days after 38 candidates in Odisha’s Bolangir district who were selected for various jobs in postal department in Grameen Dak Seva were found to have submitted fake mark sheets and certificates of matric examination, police arrested 19 persons including the mastermind of the racket who had been selling such mark sheets for anything between 50,000 and 5 lakh.

The Odisha police have arrested mastermind Manoj Mishra and 18 others and seized 5,000 fake certificates from a coaching centre run by him. (Representative Image)
The Odisha police have arrested mastermind Manoj Mishra and 18 others and seized 5,000 fake certificates from a coaching centre run by him. (Representative Image)

Bolangir superintendent of police (SP) Nitin Kushalkar said police have arrested mastermind Manoj Mishra, 53 and 18 others and seized 5,000 fake certificates from a coaching centre run by him in the town. Mishra was running a coaching centre called Reliance Educational Complex and sold fake mark sheets and certificates of 40 colleges and universities of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, New Delhi and Jharkhand.

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Police have recovered 5 to 6 land documents, rubber stamps of government officials such as tehsildar and joint director, diaries and bank passbooks.

“Though he claimed to be providing coaching classes to students of different classes and many aspirants of competitive exams, his main business was fake marksheets and certificates of Jharkhand State Open School, Dr.Bahasaheba Ambedkar Technological University, Devi Ahalya Biswa Vidyalaya, Indore, Sunrise Universityof Rajasthan, Choudhury Charan Singh University of Meerut, CMJ University of Meghalaya and dozens of other colleges and universities using high quality paperand printer. He was doing it from 2016. Many have bought the fake and forged certificates from Mishra to get admission at different colleges for higher study and employment in Govt. and private jobs,” said Kushalkar.

Apart from the GDS scam, he has also collected money from several victims/persons for providing them job in Govt. / PSU sector like Coal India Limited, Indian Railways, state revenue department,

teachers, nurses and pharmacy jobs. The scam was not only running in Bolangir district, but also in Bargarh, Kalahandi, Boudh, Sonepur and Dhenkanal districts as well as outside of Odisha. Many middlemen are working in this racket,” said the SP.

Detailing the modus operandi of the scam, the SP said after a candidate secured a job or got admission in colleges using the fake certificate, Mishra used to get the same verified by having contact in the actual education institutions. “When the letters for verification used to be sent to the respective institutions, it used to come back to Mishra who then used to reply that the certificate was genuine. The scam would not have been unearthed had the Bolangir postal division superintendent RK Patnaik not expressed doubt over candidates securing 98-99 per cent marks. The high percentage of marks busted his scam,” the SP said.

Of the 83 candidates selected for various posts under Grameen Dak Seva in Bolangir postal division this year, 38 were detected with fake certificates. All the 37 who had secured 98-99 per cent marks in matric exam had produced the marksheet and certificates of Uttar Pradesh Secondary Board of year 2000, but 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.

“Some candidates had even scored 100 marks in Odia from UP board which was a major goof-up,” said RK Patnaik, superintendent of Bolangir postal division. All the 38 had certificates from Dr BR Ambedkar Intermediate College, Jhansi.

The Bolangir police are now in the process of forming special team to go to the root of the fake marksheet scam and arrest everyone involved.

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