Odisha govt hands over Bolangir fake certificate racket probe to Crime Branch

In a major development in the mega fake certificate racket which was recently busted in Bolangir, the Odisha government has entrusted the responsibility of further probe into the sensitive case to the Crime Branch.

As per official sources, a dedicated team of the Crime Branch is likely to visit Bolangir today to inquire into the case which has triggered a political slugfest in the State. Moreover, the team will also carry out investigation in other parts of the country, if needed.

It is pertinent to mention here that OTV had first reported the fake certificate racket in Bolangir. A day later, Bolangir police had arrested 19 persons including the mastermind, Manoj Mishra, who was running a private educational centre.

During the raid, Bolangir police stumbled upon over 1000 fake certificates in the name of 41 reputed universities. The fake certificates along with verification reports, seals, diaries and rubber stamps, mobile phones, bank accounts and land documents were also seized by the police. Besides, the raid team also seized Rs 3.67 lakh in cash from the possession of Mishra.

The racket was earlier busted after some of the job aspirants furnished the bogus mark sheets and certificates to secure postal jobs in Bolangir district.

The Opposition parties in the State had also attacked the Odisha government over the fake certificate racket by alleging links of the prime accused with BJD leaders. BJP leader and Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi had displayed photographs of the prime accused in the fake certificate case with former Minister Susanta Singh and alleged a big conspiracy.

(Reported by Manoranjan Joshi)