Raiganj: Eleven minor students of a Raiganj school have allegedly submitted fake caste certificates that include forged signatures of the SDO to get scholarships, with officials suspecting the handiwork of a racket.

T.N. Sherpa, the SDO, has filed a police complaint against the Class X students of Malancha High School, a higher secondary co-educational institution located on the outskirts of the town.

Schedules Caste, Scheduled Tribes and OBC students get the state scholarship of Rs 1,100 annually and need to apply online.

"Any student who wants the assistance has to upload a scanned copy of his caste certificate to prove his or her eligibility. The information is then scrutinised by the BDO office of the area where the student lives," said an official.

The 11 students, 10 of them girls, had uploaded certificates indicating that they belong to the SC category. "The BDO's staff scrutinised the applications and got suspicious. As I went through the documents, I realised that the certificates are fake and even my signature has been forged," said Sherpa.

Other anomalies were also detected. "The photo of a student is printed along with the certificate but in these certificates, the photos have been pasted later. Also, we have checked the serial numbers with our records and have found that no certificate with such serial numbers was issued from my office. Further, there is a gross variation in the overall design and format of the certificates," said the SDO.

Police sources said based on the complaint, a case has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of IPC.

"None of the students has been arrested so far. We suspect that they have fallen prey to a racket that makes such fake documents," said a police official.

Ajay Kumar Roy, the headmaster, washed his hands of the matter and contended that the school had nothing do with it.

"The issue has nothing to do with the school. Nevertheless, we are ready to extend any help sought from us. We want the police to find out whether such rackets are active and take necessary steps," Roy said.#Police officials said they were probing the case and trying to find out whether any such racket or person was active in the areas near the school or the homes of the 11 students.