Bhubaneswar, June 10: Fake certificate rackets have started spreading their tentacles with the admission race slowly picking up pace.
Agents have apparently been contacting students luring them with fake certificates that will ensure admission in the best colleges of the state. These certificates are offered for a price between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000.
"One of them offered to take the payment after the admission is over," said a student under condition of anonymity. These racketeers offer certificates of all boards - from matriculation to Plus Two and degree certificates, too. Students have also been using fake certificates to apply to BTech, MBA, MCA, pharmacy and BArch courses.
OJEE secretary Priyabrata Sahoo said they had received around 120 fake certificates in the last academic year. There could be many more, which might went undetected, said an official.
Whenever a forged certificate is detected, the cops are informed and a formal FIR is filed. In July last year, two students were booked for forging their Plus Two certificates to get admission into engineering colleges.
While one case was detected in Bhubaneswar, another was found in Kalahandi during document verification at nodal centres. During interrogation, the accused revealed that he was approached by agents of a private college for admission.
An OJEE official said mostly students applying from outside the state, especially Bihar and Jharkhand, took the help of such fake documents. At times, such incidents run in connivance with varsity officials, who resort to unfair means to fill up their seats, he said.
"To ensure fair admission, officials at nodal centres will directly tally the marks with those obtained from the Council of Higher Secondary Education. This will help them detect cases," he said.
An official of the higher education department managing the e-admission procedures said most rackets had their roots in west Odisha.
Touts are generally well groomed. They first approach the student and offer to fill up their forms and then express interest in their certificates. He might also make false calls in front of the student to convince him or her about his reach.
However, since the admission process has become computerised, students must not take help of any such source, said a council official.