IN Bangladesh, a Bachelor or Master’s degree certificate is usually the result of 16 to 18 years of education. Counterfeit certificates that look like original ones are however available for Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 each, says a report published in this paper. In most cases, the counterfeit certificates are practically indistinguishable from the original ones as they are printed on the same type of paper. It is difficult to say how many people bearing such fake certificates are in the job market right now, but their numbers could be significant considering the fact that employers generally do not take the trouble of verifying certificates submitted by employment seekers.
Counterfeit certificate business in the city’s Nilkhet area has gained tremendously amid the pandemic when books and office stationery business fell drastically. The Rapid Action Battalion recently arrested two alleged fraudsters in connection with fake certificate business. Detectives had earlier conducted several operations and arrested many fake certificate manufacturers from different parts of the capital. Sometimes they face trouble in identifying fake certificates as students often make photocopies of original certificates in the same shops. According to Section 470 of Bangladesh Penal Code, 1860, if anyone forges any legal document by using a fake signature or seal, that person will face imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both.
Instead of using modern printing technology for the good of the society, fraudsters are using it to weaken the same as those seeking employment with fake certificates do not have requisite qualification deceive employers and in turn negatively affect the quality of work in offices and establishments. Law enforcers must bust the fake certificate business sings. The perpetrators of this heinous crime should be given exemplary punishment so that none dares to engage in such practices in future.
