Chandigarh, April 10:A total of 42 pirated NCERT books were seized during a joint raid conducted by the UT Vigilance Department and NCERT, New Delhi, at two bookshops here on Tuesday.During the raid, which continued for four hours, the NCERT inspection team collected 38 books from Happy Book Depot in Sector 22 and four from Suresh Book Depot in Sector 23, which they suspected to be pirated or duplicate.
Sources in the inspection team revealed that the books did not carry ‘NCERT watermark’. The books had been seized and would be sent to the publication department of the NCERT, New Delhi, for further lab testing.The matter pertaining to fake NCERT books being available in the market came to the fore after the UT Education Department received a complaint through secret information. Education Secretary BL Sharma said, “We received a tip-off 10-12 days ago and contacted NCERT officials to assist UT Vigilance officials in the raid.”
Booksellers sold fake books worth crores
According to sources, shopkeepers in the city have sold about 90 per cent fake books worth crores. “There are chances that other booksellers in the tricity may be selling fake NCERT books unknowingly.
“Another raid will be planned after the NCERT will authenticate the piracy of books collected from the shops,” said an official.
Master copy leaked from printing agency
According to sources, there is a presumption that a master soft copy may have been leaked from the NCERT printing agency in New Delhi. “The PDF file available on the official site of the council is not in book format. For printing books, a master soft copy is required, which should be ideally with the NCERT. It is just a presumption that the copy may have been leaked from there,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.
Printers involved in piracy suspected from UP
As per prima facie, fake publishing of NCERT books is being done from Uttar Pradesh and other states as well. Sources in the NCERT publication hinted that at least 30 per cent books were yet to be printed. To meet the shortage of books, some printers got engaged in publishing pirated books. Shopkeepers in the city said there was a shortage of mathematics and science books of Classes VI, VII and VIII.
How to check pirated NCERT book?
- Before buying any NCERT textbook, make sure it carries the watermark of its logo on many pages.
- Check any eight consecutive pages, you will find watermark on at least two pages. If there is no watermark, it means your book could be a pirated one.
- No bookseller is allowed to sell any NCERT textbook beyond the actual price printed in it.
