A day after Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power after unseating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) regime, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) swung into action and carried out searches at over 67 locations in Odisha to probe postal recruitment scam.
Following a complaint from the Director of Postal Services, Bhubaneswar, the CBI said on Thursday that it registered an FIR on May 9, against 63 candidates of Gramin Dak Sevak Examination and others to uncover a interstate organised gang involved in the scam.
However, searches at over 67 locations were conducted now across various districts of Odisha, including Kalahandi, Nuapada, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, and Bhadrak.
“This massive operation involves more than 204 officials, including 122 officers from CBI and 82 personnel from other departments, highlighting the scale and seriousness of the investigation. The search teams are striving to uncover the interstate organised gang responsible for providing these fake (10th pass) certificates,” the CBI spokesperson stated.
The complaint was over the recruitment process to fill 1,382 posts of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS), for which online applications were invited on 27th January 2023, the CBI informed.
The minimum qualification required was a 10th pass certificate from any recognized board, with proficiency in the local language being mandatory, the agency elaborated. According to the procedure, applicants were required to upload their certificates and mark sheets to a centralised server and the selection was automated based on the marks secured in the 10th standard.
Selected candidates, as per the investigating agency, were informed via SMS and email and were asked to report to a listed authority within 15 days for document verification prior to their appointment.
Verification process
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 10th 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, the CBI said.
The complaint suggests alleged involvement of an interstate racket in creating and supplying these forged certificates in collusion with the candidates.