CBI takes over Odisha SI recruitment scam probe; Court hands over all case records

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has officially taken charge of the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam after the Vigilance Court in Berhampur on Tuesday handed over all related documents to the central agency.

The case files, which were initially registered at the Golonthara police station of Ganjam district and later transferred to the Odisha Crime Branch, will now be investigated under the oversight of the Bhubaneswar CBI Court.

The Court’s directive comes after multiple arrests, including that of alleged mastermind Shankar Prusty. On Monday night, Prusty and 11 other accused were shifted from Berhampur to the Jharpada Special Jail in Bhubaneswar, where they will remain in judicial custody.

As the investigation grew wider, it was transferred to the Crime Branch, which conducted arrests, interrogations and secured digital evidence.

Following directions issued by the Odisha government, all responsibilities have now been handed over to the CBI. With the document transfer completed, the central agency will begin its independent investigation, and all hearings will henceforth be conducted in the Bhubaneswar CBI Court.

Officials familiar with the matter said that the handover includes forensic reports, digital evidence records, seizure lists, and interrogation documents collected during the Crime Branch investigation. The CBI team is also expected to seek custody of the key accused once the hearings commence.

Mastermind’s Remarks Hint at Larger Network

Even as the transfer took place, the arrest of the main accused, Shankar Prusty, had already stirred speculation about deeper links in the scam. Before his transfer to Bhubaneswar, Prusty made a brief and cryptic statement to the media, claiming that he possessed evidence related to a ‘Rs 1,000 crore deal’ during the previous government.

“During the previous government… if I had not surrendered, there would not have been a 1,000 crore deal. It was not me but conspirators who did this scam. I have all the evidence and faith in the law,” he told reporters without naming anyone.

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Crime Branch Interrogation and Evidence Cross-Checks

Before the CBI took over, Crime Branch investigators had carried out face-to-face interrogation between Prusty and another accused, Muna Mohanty.                                                                                     

As of the latest reports, officials were cross-verifying digital files, bank transactions and WhatsApp communication believed to have been exchanged through encrypted platforms. Sources said these probes will now remain part of the CBI’s evidence set.

Both Prusty and Mohanty are suspected to have played central roles in rigging the recruitment examination by facilitating question leaks and influencing candidate selection through financial transactions.