Odisha Police SI recruitment exam scam shakes entire recruitment system; aspirants in lurch, govt in action mode

Shocking developments in the span of the past few days involving massive irregularities in the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector (SI) examination have rocked the state recruitment system.

After a confidential tip-off and subsequent probe into irregularities in the SI recruitment process has now unravelled into a network of brokers, private institutes, and alleged inside links spanning multiple districts.

All of these have led to faithful aspirants losing their hopes of having a fair chance at cracking the exam and securing a future in the state workforce.

How The Racket Worked

Investigations revealed that the accused arranged special coaching camps for 114 aspirants in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, allegedly to ensure their selection through unfair means. Each candidate reportedly paid between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, depending on the stage of the recruitment. Sources estimate the total scam value could run into tens of crores.

The recruitment process for 933 SI posts was handled by the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB), which had outsourced technical operations to ITI Limited, a public-sector company.

ITI, in turn, subcontracted responsibilities to Silicon Institute, which then handed them to Panchasoft, the firm now under investigation. This multi-layered outsourcing chain has come under sharp scrutiny, raising questions about oversight and due diligence.

"It must be probed whether these companies had the power of sub-letting their functions and why they did so. I even fear that all 900 advertised posts of the SI recruitment exam may have been sold,” said Abhishek Biswal, an aspirant for the Odisha Police SI post.

According to initial findings, the racket, believed to be worth several crores, was allegedly operated by Muna Mahanty of Banki in Cuttack and Shankar Prusty of Sheragada in Ganjam. 

Shankar, who heads a private firm named Panchasoft in Berhampur, is accused of being the technical mastermind. As of this morning, police have sealed the Panchasoft office and launched a full-scale inquiry into its operations.

“This is a machination of sorts. Indeed, several people are involved in this large-scale racket of selling jobs. Why was such a sensitive recruitment process handed to a private firm with local links? Was this merely negligence or part of a larger collusion?” questioned former Odisha Chief Secretary Bijay Pattnaik.

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Arrests And Political Reactions

Following the Chief Minister’s directive, Berhampur Police intercepted three buses near the Andhra border, detaining 114 aspirants and three brokers identified as Biswajit Harichandan, Loknath Sahu, and Tafim Ahmed Khan. The arrests have sparked widespread outrage among job aspirants and student groups.

The organisation Students Against Corruption (SAC) has demanded the suspension of officials linked to the recruitment process, alleging that one of the arrested candidates is the son of a former DIG.

“The ones who are in charge of conducting this recruitment exam are the ones who are selling these jobs. This situation is highly unfortunate,” said SAC convenor Bibhuti Bhusan Mahapatra.

Political reactions have also intensified. While Biju Chhatra Janata Dal leader Ipsita Sahu demanded a fair probe, BJP State President Manmohan Samal accused the previous government of institutional negligence.

“If our government had been corrupt, then we would have gone ahead with the SI recruitment exam. Since we detected these corrupt practices, we postponed the exams scheduled for October 5 and 6. This is a systemic issue and needs to be weeded out, which we are actively trying to do with strong operations,” said Samal.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that the Odisha Crime Branch will take over the investigation to trace financial trails, identify beneficiaries, and examine whether any officials within the recruitment board were complicit.