The Kendrapara Town Police conducted a raid at the ODCE office, an institute imparting BEd education through its affiliation with a university in Andhra Pradesh, on Friday night and seized a computer and its equipment, some leaflets, a cheque book, original certificates and valuable papers. The police also sealed the center, informed Kendrapara SP Rabi Narayan Behera.
The raid was conducted after a complaint was filed by several aggrieved students in the town that the centre head had duped them of crores of rupees under the pretext of proving BEd degree.
It all happened after 26 students who had taken admission at the centre for the one-year course did not get access to write their examination at an examination centre in Andhra Pradesh. The examination centre had told the students that the ODCE had not deposited the required money for each student to appear at the examination. Even though the students had been accompanied by a few employees of the ODCE and on an agreement that the ODCE would clear the dues the students were allowed appear a few papers in the examination, yet later when the ODCE failed to deposit the money at the stipulated time, the students were debarred from writing the rest papers. It was found that the institute had embezzled the money paid by the students during admission and at various points of time. Since the Andhra Pradesh centre did not get the money it finally did not allow the Odia students to appear at the examination.
Infuriated over the development, the students had filed a complaint with the Kendrapada police and sought justice. On Friday, the ill fated students and their guardians had met the district Collector and demanded stern action against the head of ODCE and its employees for cheating them and embezzling around Rs 1 crore. District Collector Pramod Kumar Das had assured the harassed students that the administration would take stern action against the institution and its head.
He had also directed the SP to look into the matter. When contacted, Kendrapara Town Police Station IIC Pramod Kumar lenka informed that a case under Section 420 and 34 IPC was registered against
five persons , including Kamalakanta Behera, the head of ODCE. A haunt is on to nab the accused, he said.