CHENNAI: Over 300 people from a few North Indian states and Karnataka have submitted fake Class X Tamil Nadu State certificates to land jobs at several Central government public sector undertakings, according to officials from the State school education department.
“A majority of these people are employed at India Post, while others are with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), and Punjab National Bank (PNB) among others,” said an official from the department.
The issue came to light reportedly after India Post and police in Karnataka contacted the school education department and informed it about a few such fraudsters in that state.
Subsequently, the school education department advised the postal and police departments in Karnataka to register complaints against them.
“This isn’t the first time we have come to know about fake certificates. We generally find fake Tamil Nadu State certificates with those going to gulf countries from Kerala. Such individuals forge Tamil Nadu certificates thinking that forging a fake certificate of their own state would be risky. When, however, the companies that employ them send us the certificate, we flag it as forged,” said an official from the school education department.
Some of the common discrepancies on fake certificates include adding Hindi as a first language, absence of a watermark, and change of font.
According to norms, if it is found that a government servant had furnished false information or produced a false certificate to secure the appointment, they should not be retained in service.