37 candidates applying for postal jobs in Odisha found with ‘fake certificates’
Patnaik said that his suspicion arose as the candidates who score more than 90% in matric never apply for the post of Grameen Dak Seva, which has a lesser salary than those working in post offices in urban areas, however, this time, candidates with higher marks too had applied for the post
Thirty-seven candidates who appeared for the recruitment of government postal jobs in Odisha were found to be holding “fake certificates”, according to RK Patnaik, superintendent of Bolangir postal division.
In Odisha, 1,380 candidates have been selected for Grameen Dak Sevak (GDS) jobs in different postal divisions this year.
He said that the candidates who applied for the job of GDS- branch postmaster, GDS- assistant branch postmaster, and GDS- mail carrier of the Indian postal department have, according to the certificate, secured 98-99% marks in matric.
“While the mark sheets and certificates seemed to be made from poor-quality papers, their fumbling over simple English words alerted me. When I interrogated one girl, she confessed that she had paid ₹50,000 to procure the certificate,” Patnaik said.
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All of them had their sheets and certificates from Uttar Pradesh Secondary Board of the year 2000, from Dr BR Ambedkar Intermediate College in Jhansi, he said.
The scam came to light on Wednesday when the superintendent began checking the candidates’ matric certificates and mark sheets.
According to the superintendent, one candidate could not write her name in English correctly though her matric mark sheet showed 99 in English, while another could not write simple English words correctly. Several others fumbled for answers when they were asked about their matric percentage which ranged between 96-98 per cent.
Patnaik said that his suspicion arose as the candidates who score more than 90% in matric never apply for the post of Grameen Dak Seva, which has a lesser salary than those working in post offices in urban areas, however, this time, candidates with higher marks too had applied for the post.
Knowing of the forgery, Patnaik said that he said lodged a first information report (FIR) with the local police station. “I spoke to the SDPO (deputy superintendent of police), but he is yet to take any action,” he said.
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Bolangir Sadar SDPO Tophan Bag refused to comment on the case.
Unlike the postal assistants who are recruited through the entrance examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), GDS postmasters and mail carriers are selected based on their Std 10 marks.
The salary for the branch postmasters is around ₹16,000 a month, that of the asst branch post-masters is ₹14,000, while the mail delivery person gets around ₹12,000 monthly salary.
