Bhubaneswar, Jul 18: The Odisha Crime Branch has intensified its investigation into the textbook printing error case, focusing on identifying those responsible for the mistakes and uncovering how the flawed books were published. Investigators are examining who made the errors, what led to them, and which officials or agencies may have been accountable.

Since the case was registered, the Crime Branch has been pursuing multiple leads. On Friday, four Crime Branch teams carried out simultaneous investigations at three key institutions in Bhubaneswar. The agency is preparing to question all 15 Assistant Directors of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) who were involved in textbook preparation. Members of the editorial board, review committee, and expert panel are also expected to be summoned for questioning. If necessary, the core committee that approved the textbooks may also be examined.

Investigators have also brought two private printing press owners under scrutiny after learning that they were allegedly aware of the errors before the books were circulated. They are likely to be questioned soon.

The Crime Branch teams conducted searches at the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), SCERT, and the Textbook Production and Marketing Directorate (TBPM). At OSEPA, officials examined records related to textbook planning, printing volumes, expenditure, approvals, and distribution timelines. Deputy Director Itishree Nayak, who oversees the textbook section, was questioned, and investigators sought detailed records on the number of books planned, funds sanctioned, approval procedures, and expenditure.

Officials were instructed to submit all relevant documents, including financial approvals, project timelines, and other important records, to the Crime Branch headquarters by the end of the day.

Another team visited the SCERT office and collected original manuscripts for 55 textbooks, along with DTP versions prepared after the review process and other key documents related to textbook development.

Meanwhile, a separate team spent nearly five hours at the TBPM office in Kharavel Nagar, examining printing-related records. Investigators seized printed copies of all 55 textbooks, hard copies, PDF files, tender documents, official correspondence between SCERT and TBPM, and records related to the outsourcing of printing work to private presses.

The Crime Branch will now compare the original SCERT manuscripts, DTP files, and the hard and soft copies sent to TBPM for printing to determine at which stage the errors were introduced.

According to officials, the textbooks were prepared following NCERT guidelines, but the TBPM Director stated that the work was completed under severe time constraints, and the rushed process may have contributed to the mistakes.

Crime Branch Director General Binaytosh Mishra said that arrested SCERT Director Manoj Padhi would be taken on remand next week for further interrogation. The agency is currently collecting documentary and technical evidence and hopes the remand will provide crucial information about the sequence of events leading to the textbook errors.

The investigation, led by DSP Narendra Behera, has already uncovered several important leads after examining records and questioning officials at OSEPA. The Crime Branch says the probe is progressing and more people may be questioned as the investigation continues.