Crime Branch probe into textbook errors, CM directs SCERT to file FIR

Bhubaneswar: Taking serious note of errors found in textbooks for Classes I to VIII, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a criminal investigation into the entire textbook preparation and publication process.

The Chief Minister also directed the Director of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to lodge an FIR with the Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, paving the way for a formal criminal probe into the alleged irregularities.

Earlier, the state government had constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner to ascertain the reasons behind the errors in the textbooks. Based on the committee’s findings, the then SCERT Director and three Assistant Directors were placed under suspension.

In addition, the government initiated departmental disciplinary proceedings against six other Assistant Directors for their alleged role in the lapses.