Odisha police SI recruitment scam: Arrested candidates allege academic certificates in custody of accused

More revelations emerged as Suresh Nayak, owner of ‘Silicon Private Limited’, was interrogated on Friday in connection with the Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment scam in Odisha. Nayak was questioned at the Crime Branch headquarters in Cuttack City.

Also Read: Odisha Police SI exam ‘sabotage’: Shankar Prusty, Muna Mohanty under scanner in multi-crore recruitment fraud

The private company was previously entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the SI recruitment examination.

Mastermind of the job fraud, identified as Shankar Prusty, and his aide, identified as Muna Mohanty, are absconding. It is said that both of their mobile phones are switched off.

The probe into the SI recruitment scam has intensified, revealing a tangled web of corruption involving middlemen, private institutions, and even family members of police officers.

In a startling development, arrested candidates have alleged that their academic certificates were taken by agents promising guaranteed jobs.

According to sources, the scam came to light after the intervention of the Odisha Chief Minister. Information regarding OPRB (Odisha Police Recruitment Board) exam scam had reached the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Following this, the CMO intervened. After receiving credible information, the CMO made a phone call to Berhampur SP (Superintendent of Police). As per the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s instructions, Berhampur SP took prompt action.

Accordingly, Berhampur police intercepted 114 candidates who were travelling outside the State in three buses.

Family members visiting the 114 candidates lodged at Berhampur Jail have raised serious allegations, claiming that middlemen exploited desperate aspirants by collecting their original documents on the pretext of securing their recruitment.

A total of 117 persons, including 114 candidates and 3 middlemen, have been arrested so far.

Sources said Prusty hails from Sheragada in Ganjam district but spends most of his time in Bhubaneswar. His exact connection to a private company called Panchsoft Technologies Pvt Ltd remains unclear, and the location of its office in Berhampur is yet to be verified.

Shockingly, among those arrested are allegedly sons and daughters of both former and current police officials, leading to questions about internal leaks and high-level complicity. A former officer has publicly questioned the role of senior police officials in the recruitment process.

Merely clearing the written exam was not enough; candidates allegedly had to “qualify” two more stages to secure a job—indicating a multi-layered scam with possible insider involvement, police sources said.

The OPRB, responsible for conducting SI exams, is now under the scanner for possible lapses in process integrity. Questions are being raised about its operational transparency.

As the probe deepens, more arrests and revelations are expected, potentially exposing a large-scale nexus in Odisha's police recruitment process.

No comments were received from the Crime Branch in this regard.

Worth mentioning, OPRB had initially assigned ITI Limited the responsibility to conduct the recruitment exam, which was subsequently given to Silicon and then to Panchsoft.