BHUBANESWAR: With the fake certificate scam spreading its tentacles beyond the state, the Odisha postal circle has requested Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the Gram Dak Seva (GDS) recruitment scam which reportedly has pan-India links.
The Department of Posts which made the recruitment of GDS jobs online in 2018 hired for the posts of branch postmaster, assistant postmaster and dak sevak. Sources in Odisha Circle said the central agency has been requested to bring under its scope of investigation all GDS recruitments made in the state over the last six years.
“We have written to the CBI requesting to probe the scam as it purportedly has pan-India links,” a source told The New Indian Express. This scam appears to have spread across the districts of the state. Besides, fake certificates of boards and universities of other states have been used by candidates to get jobs. The central agency has been requested to look into the scam as it does not have any state limitations, it said.
The CBI, however, has yet not asked the Odisha Postal Circle to share the details of GDS recruitment scam. The last hiring for GDS posts was held about six months back. Currently, the scam which has assumed sensational proportions is being probed by Crime Branch of Odisha Police.
In Odisha, over 1,100 candidates were selected by Department of Posts for which written/viva tests are not conducted and Class X marks are the only eligibility. The fraud came to fore after Department of Posts began verifying certificates of applicants in Balangir where 37 candidates were found to have scored between 98 per cent and 99 per cent marks in six subjects.
All the candidates had got their certificates from Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Sikhya Parishad which prompted the postal department to flag the cases. Balangir Police had arrested at least 19 people including prime accused Manoj Mishra and his associate Alok Udgata. During investigation, Mishra revealed to the Crime Branch that a native of Uttar Pradesh assisted him in the scam.
Odisha postal circle seeks CBI investigation
The Uttar Pradesh native has links with various colleges and universities across the country, said CB sources. About 1,500 to 2,000 fake certificates of various boards and universities in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Sikkim were seized from Mishra who also amassed huge wealth.
He ran a coaching centre since 1998 and is believed to have issued hundreds of fake certificates to aspirants seeking jobs in government institutions. However, it was not clear yet how CBI can take over the case from Crime Branch unless the former registers a fresh case with a new lead and evidence. It can take up cases being probed by state agencies under two scenarios - either when the state government accords its sanction or under direction of the high court or Supreme Court.