Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday ordered the State Crime Branch to launch a criminal investigation into large-scale errors found in school textbooks published by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), escalating the government’s response to a controversy that has triggered widespread criticism.
The Chief Minister also directed SCERT to formally lodge a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, paving the way for a criminal probe into the alleged lapses in the preparation, printing and publication of textbooks for Classes I to VIII.
The decision comes after an official inquiry reportedly identified nearly 2,000 language, factual and editorial errors across the textbooks, raising serious concerns over quality control in the state’s school education system.
Earlier, the state government had constituted a high-level committee under the supervision of the Development Commissioner to investigate the matter. Based on its preliminary findings, former SCERT Director Manoj Padhi and three other officials were suspended. A special inquiry team also questioned the suspended director, while departmental disciplinary proceedings were initiated against six Assistant Directors of SCERT.
According to official sources, the Chief Minister ordered the Crime Branch investigation after examining the findings of the special inquiry team.
The Crime Branch has been tasked with examining the entire textbook production process—from manuscript preparation and editing to printing and publication—to determine how such a large number of errors went undetected and whether there was any criminal negligence or deliberate wrongdoing.
The state government is also examining whether the irregularities were the result of a deliberate attempt to embarrass the newly elected BJP government. Earlier, Chief Minister Majhi had publicly stated that the widespread textbook errors could be part of a larger conspiracy against his administration, though no evidence supporting such a claim has been made public.
The Crime Branch investigation is expected to identify any additional individuals or agencies responsible for the lapses and determine whether criminal liability can be established.
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