Cuttack, Dec. 13: A fake certificate racket at an NGO was busted here and three persons were arrested today.

Several fake certificates of the Orissa Board of Secondary Education, Council for Higher Secondary Education and material used for preparing them were also seized.

Sources said on specific information, police teams raided a house at Gumma in Gajapati block and an NGO office at Rajabagicha in Cuttack and held Manu Badaraita and Narendra Kumar Maharana, respectively.

Investigations following the raids since Thursday indicated preparation of fake educational certificates of OBSE and CHSE at the NGO office at Rajabagicha in Cuttack. The police suspect Narendra to be the kingpin of the racket while Manu was an agent. “Our investigations are purely based on inputs provided by Gajapati superintendent of police. It is apprehended that a systematic racket was operating in the sensitive and unethical practice,” said A.N. Sinha, the deputy commissioner of police.

The sources said the Gajapati police had got the leads after taking into custody one Bipra Charan Sabara of Badasinghar area under Mohana block. He had submitted a matriculation certificate purported to have been issued by the board as an applicant under the state government’s special police recruitment drive in Gajapati district for SC and ST candidates. But the signature and seal in the certificate were found to have been tampered.

Five others also submitted fake board certificates prepared at the NGO.