Two members of fake BEd admission racket arrested

Jharsuguda: Jharsuguda cyber crime police on Sunday busted a fake BEd admission racket that allegedly duped students from the district by promising admissions in Andhra Pradesh-based colleges.Police identified the arrested as Chittaranjan Barik (45) and Reema Das (28), both residents of Burla.According to police, a case was registered on April 23 after one Preeti Rani Panda under Orient police station, Brajranagar, filed a complaint. Thereafter, Cyber Crime police station, Jharsuguda, began a probe.Police said the accused lured aspirants by claiming they could secure admissions in a private college at Vinukonda in Guntur district against payment of Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 per student as commission.Barik allegedly took money from students without facilitating any admission or refunding the amount. To maintain the illusion, he allegedly made forged admission-related documents and shared them with victims.Police said the accused misled students by claiming availability of distance-mode BEd courses. “There is no recognised distance BEd programme. The course is strictly regular and governed by NCTE and university norms,” an official said.Probe revealed that an entity named ‘One World Academy’ was run by Barik, along with Alok Kumar Patra and Sangram Kesari, who are suspected to be part of the network. Efforts are on to uncover the full extent of the racket.Jharsuguda SP G R Raghavendra urged students and parents to verify the recognition and affiliation of institutions with the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and the concerned universities before taking admission or making payments. Victims of similar frauds have been asked to approach the nearest police station.