BHUBANESWAR: Police on Saturday seized over 1,000 fake NCERT books worth Rs 10 lakh during raids on various bookstores in the state capital. The books were confiscated from three book stores. Initial investigation revealed the books were being sold at prices on par with original NCERT books. Bhubaneswar police was alerted about the fake books over complaints of poor production quality and absence of watermarks of the national agency.
Acting on a tip-off, Kharavela Nagar police conducted raids at Vidyarthi book store in Station Square and seized a number of fake NCERT books. When the police questioned the staff, they found out that the fake NCERT books were procured from another shop - Maa Mangala book store in Unit-IX area. Police then conducted raids at Maa Mangala store and seized at least 300 fake books and an auto-rickshaw from the spot. The police conducted further raids at Subham book store in Rabi Talkies Square and seized several fake NCERT books.
“More than 1,000 fake books have been seized. Many books were for senior students. Three persons have been detained for distributing and selling the fake books,” said an officer of Kharavela Nagar police station. Police are now trying to investigate the source of the books and whether they were circulated to stores in other parts of the state too, said sources.