Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched raids at over 67 locations across various districts of Odisha over alleged certificate forgery in the recruitment of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) in the state.
The CBI has launched an extensive investigation following a complaint from the Director of Postal Services, Bhubaneswar, Odisha and searches at over 67 locations have been conducted across various districts of Odisha, including Kalahandi, Nuapada, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, and Bhadrak, the CBI aid in a press statement today.
More than 204 officials, including 122 officers from CBI and 82 personnel from other departments are conducting the raids. The search teams are striving to uncover the inter-state organized gang responsible for providing these fake certificates, it said.
The CBI has registered a case on May 9, 2023 under relevant sections of the IPC, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) on complaint by postal department against 63 candidates of the GDS exam, 2023 (Odisha Circle) & others including unknown officials of the postal department and unknown private persons.
The complaint concerns the recruitment process for 1,382 posts of GDS, for which online applications were invited on January 27, 2023. The minimum qualification required was a class 10 pass certificate from any recognized board, with proficiency in the local language being mandatory.
According to the procedure, applicants were required to upload their certificates and mark sheets to a centralized server. Selection was automated based on the marks secured in the 10th standard.
Selected candidates were informed via SMS and email and were asked to report to the verifying authority within 15 days for document verification prior to their appointment, the Central Agency said.
During the verification process, the Odisha Postal Circle allegedly discovered that 63 candidates from various postal divisions, including Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, and Barhampur, had submitted forged or fake class-10 pass certificates.
These certificates were allegedly issued by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Allahabad, West Bengal Board, Kolkata; Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi; among others.In the complaint, it was alleged that an interstate racket was involved in creating and supplying these forged certificates in collusion with the candidates.