Five people, including a woman teacher and her father, were arrested in Kandhamal district on Monday on the charges of forging their caste certificates for Government benefits.
The police said Debendra Pradhan, a retired teacher, and his daughter Raisa Pradhan, a teacher in the Kalinga Nodal Upper Primary School, Kameswara Mallick and his two brothers Alakash and Ispan of Dakabadu village, were accused of forging documents.
Kandhamal AP KV Singh said these persons were arrested on basis of an FIR lodged by the District Welfare Officer (DWO) after the State-level Scrutiny Committee (SlSC), inquired into the fake caste certificate issue. While Pradhan and his daughter got teaching jobs through fake caste certificates, other three availed Government benefits. This makes the number of arrested persons in fake caste certificate cases in the district to 25 in the last two years, the police said.
The Kui Samaj Sammanwaya Samiti, a tribal outfit, has been demanding action against people getting Government benefits by producing fake tribal certificates since last five years, around 1,000 such persons.