Odisha Police SI recruitment sabotage: Fifth middleman arrested, suspicious documents recovered

In a significant development, the fifth middleman in the police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment sabotage in Odisha, has been arrested by the Crime Branch on Sunday.

The middleman has been identified as Aravind Das who is a resident of Balasore district. Das has been arrested by the Crime Branch in connection with a case registered at Golanthara Police Station in Berhampur. 

During the investigation, suspicious documents were recovered from Aravind which is expected to help trace the broader network involved in the fraud. Prior to this, 114 candidates and four other middlemen had already been arrested in connection with the case.

Preliminary investigations revealed that aspirants were taken out of the state for ‘special coaching,’ while their certificates were reportedly held as collateral until payments were completed.

It further came to light that the candidates were taken to these out-of-state centres allegedly to receive question papers of the SI recruitment exam and obtain a ‘guaranteed selection’. It is worth noting that probe in this regard is ongoing, and the exact modus operandi may be revealed later by Odisha Police.

Also Read: Odisha Police SI recruitment scam sparks bitter political face-off

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch on Sunday conducted a raid at a fake online test centre located at Raghunathpur in Bhubaneswar in connection with the scam.

According to reports, the raid was carried out after officials received information that deals related to the recruitment process were being made at the centre.