Five persons, including two teachers, were arrested on Saturday for being involved in a racket that enabled appointment of government school teachers through fake certificates in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
Police also seized fake B.Ed and other certificates, over 500 duplicate rubber stamps of various government offices and a computer hard disc from the arrested persons.
The racket came to light during a police investigation in relation to a complaint filed by Aska Block Education Officer Krutibash Barik. According to the FIR, B.Ed certificates furnished by two assistant teachers, Gouri Shankar Jena and Dayanidhi Parida, for getting appointment were fake. Mr. Jena had got appointment in 2006 while Mr. Parida joined in 2012. In 2019, they resigned from their jobs.
Mr. Jena had produced a B.Ed certificate from Berhampur University, while Mr. Barik had from Utkal University. Both universities have confirmed that the certificates are fake.
Another teacher, Prakash Chandra Polai, who was found to have helped Mr. Jena in procuring the certificate, was also nabbed by the police.
Another teacher mentioned in the FIR has not been arrested yet.
Interrogation of the two teachers led to the arrest of three others — Ranjit Kumar Palata, K. Dhiren Kumar Dora and Durga Prasad Mishra.
