Hazaribagh: The district administration in Hazaribagh has uncovered an alleged fake NCERT textbook racket and lodged FIRs against three bookshops accused of selling counterfeit school books in the city.
The action was taken after complaints surfaced regarding the sale of fake Class 9 NCERT textbooks. Following an investigation, raids were conducted at Sangam Book Depot, Gyan Bhandar-1 and Gyan Bhandar-2.
Officials said the operation was carried out on the instructions of Deputy Commissioner Hemant Sati after the administration received repeated reports about counterfeit NCERT books being sold in local markets.
During the inspection, authorities found several books without the official NCERT hologram that is used to identify genuine copies. The books were also found to have poor-quality paper, weak binding and inferior printing, strengthening suspicions that they were fake.
The shopkeepers claimed that they were reselling old NCERT books purchased from students. However, officials suspect the matter could be linked to a larger organised network involved in the circulation of counterfeit textbooks.
The seized books were confiscated in the presence of witnesses and local residents, after which FIRs were registered against the three shop owners under the Copyright Act, 1957.
The administration has warned that strict action will be taken against anyone involved in educational fraud. Parents and students have also been advised to buy books only from authorised sellers and report any suspicious material to the authorities.
With inputs from IANS