Bhubaneswar. July 22: The Crime Branch has uncovered preliminary evidence suggesting financial irregularities of approximately ₹22–23 crore in the Odisha school textbook printing case. Investigators said scrutiny of records related to printing and other associated expenses points to suspected misappropriation of funds.

According to Crime Branch sources, around ₹175 crore was recorded as expenditure on paper procurement, printing, committee-related activities, and transportation. Officials said a detailed financial audit is underway to determine the exact extent of the alleged irregularities and identify the expenditure heads under which funds may have been diverted.

The investigation has also expanded to include the role of government officials and private entities involved in the textbook printing process. Preliminary findings indicate that textbooks containing numerous errors were approved for printing despite reported knowledge of the discrepancies.

Meanwhile, the owners of two private printing presses in Cuttack—Jagannath Process and Neelakantha Printers—are reportedly untraceable. The Crime Branch suspects they have left Odisha and said a special team will soon travel outside the state to trace them.

Both printing press owners have filed anticipatory bail applications before the High Court. Similar applications have also been filed by SCERT Assistant Directors Pralipta Mishra, Dillip Kumar Sahu, Kishore Kumar Kar, and Bharati Tudu. The High Court is expected to hear the pleas shortly.

The Crime Branch had earlier named the four Assistant Directors along with former SCERT Director Manoj Padhi, who has already been arrested in connection with the case, in its First Information Report (FIR).

A senior Crime Branch official alleged that the original textbook manuscripts contained thousands of factual and editorial errors and that the then SCERT Director was aware of these issues. Despite this, investigators claim the textbooks were approved for printing without adequate corrections. The alleged errors included incorrect photographs, spelling mistakes, and inconsistencies in the curriculum across different textbooks.

The Crime Branch investigation is continuing, with officials examining financial records and the decision-making process behind the approval and printing of the textbooks.