Massive ‘job fraud’ in Odisha Police SI recruitment exam: Berhampur cops track, detain over 150 candidates

Berhampur police, on Monday night, intercepted a bus near Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh and detained more than 150 candidates suspected of being linked to malpractice in the Odisha Police sub-inspector recruitment exam.

Sources said that the aspirants were being taken to Hyderabad for ‘special coaching’ arranged by the very agency conducting the test, jeopardising the entire examination.

Candidates Stopped On Way To Hyderabad

Reports stated that three buses, which had left Bhubaneswar carrying around 150 examinees, were tracked and stopped as they entered Srikakulam. Preliminary information obtained by sources suggests that a special team of the Berhampur police had received an anonymous tip-off regarding this scam.

Subsequently, they tracked the phone of the suspects and kept a close vigil before zeroing in on them last night.

Police detained the candidates at an undisclosed location before bringing them back to Berhampur for questioning. The arrangement to provide coaching outside Odisha by the same agency responsible for holding the recruitment exam was a major violation and raised doubts about the fairness of the process.

Investigation And Interrogation Underway

Sources informed that all detained candidates are currently being interrogated at Berhampur. Police officials have not disclosed their identities or the names of the agency involved, but confirmed that the operation was based on specific intelligence inputs.

Officials stated that the case points to organised malpractice linked to recruitment, and a wider probe has been launched to trace the network behind the racket.

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Exam Conducting Agency Under Scanner

Preliminary findings suggest that the private agency entrusted with conducting the SI recruitment test may have been involved in giving preferential support to select candidates through these Hyderabad-based coaching sessions.

Police are now investigating how many aspirants were part of the plan and whether similar practices were carried out in earlier recruitment drives, added reports.

"The Police Board took over the responsibility of conducting these recruitment exams from the Odisha Staff Selection Commission, and now they must take accountability for the situation and detail the proceedings to the public," said senior journalist Prasanna Mohanty, following the case.

As of the last reports, Berhampur police confirmed that details of those detained and the agency’s role will be revealed after the preliminary inquiry, in what is said to be one of the largest job-related frauds detected in recent years.