A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday caught a top official of the postal department in Sambalpur district for allegedly accepting illegal gratification from a contractor.
The accused, Subasish Pal, was allegedly taking the bribe from a contractor named Debendra Puhan at the office of the postal superintendent when he was caught by the officials of the central agency.
The investigating officer in the case, Akshay Kumar Nanda, had been camping in Sambalpur for the past three days.
Earlier, it was suspected that the CBI team was inquiring into the fake certificate case link. Recently, six persons were identified to have alleged involvement in the fake certificate case in Sambalpur. The Postal Department had also written to the CBI to probe into the fake certificate scam in the State.
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Meanwhile, responding to the fake certificate scam in Odisha, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said the government was aware of the fake certificate racket.
“Fake certificate is not something new. It picked up momentum after Bolangir postal incident. We had some information about fake certificates. We have been continuing our probe in this regard in an intensive manner. We have already dismissed more than 150 persons in connection with the fake certificate case. Complaints have been lodged and some persons have also been arrested in Mayurbhanj,” said Dash.
“It’s a continuous process. We have asked the BEOs and DEOs to report about the persons who have got jobs by submitting fake certificates in their areas. We have also asked them to take stern action against the culprits. We have written letters to various universities inside and outside the State for proper investigation into the scam. They are also cooperating with us fully and it will take some time,” he added.
As per the Minister, Education Department in the State had initiated a probe in this regard earlier and hence forming a special team is not required.
“Crime Branch has launched a probe into the fake certificate case in Bolangir. They have also identified some persons having links with the scam. They will take further actions as per the requirement of the investigation,” said Dash.