In a major development in the ongoing investigation into the fake educational certificate racket case, the Odisha Crime Branch has reportedly found links of Uttar Pradesh Board officials in the scam.
Acting on a tip-off, the investigating agency of the Odisha Police visited Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab and during the investigation, it reportedly found the involvement of some UP board officials in the mega fake certificate case.
According to sources, the probe agency went to the Uttar Pradesh Higher Secondary Board office and unearthed a nexus between some board officials and the fake certificate racket members.
If sources are to be believed, blank certificates of the board used to be procured through middlemen, and marks were imprinted on them before selling them off to candidates.
Meanwhile, a Crime Branch team is scheduled to visit Uttar Pradesh again to further investigate into the matter and trace the people involved in the scam.
Notably, the fake education certificate racket having pan-India links was busted in Bolangir and around 1,000 to 5,000 fake certificates were seized from a coaching centre named Reliance Education Institute.
All the certificates looked almost similar to the original ones with properly printed holograms and logos. So far, 19 persons including the owner of the educational institution have been arrested in connection with the case.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Crime Branch had earlier informed that nearly 200 job holders are under the scanner for using fake certificates to secure jobs.