Bhubaneswar, Oct 18: The Crime Branch wing of Odisha Police on Friday arrested four individuals, including a key mastermind, in connection with the sub inspector recruitment scam that has triggered statewide outrage and raised serious concerns over the integrity of government job selection processes.
Among those apprehended is Muna Mohanty, against whom a Look Out Circular (LOC) had been issued. The accused were taken into custody following a series of targeted search operations and are currently being interrogated. Authorities have confirmed that more individuals, including Sankar Prusty, the principal conspirator behind the job for cash racket, are involved, and the investigation is being intensified to uncover the full scale of the fraud, said Vinaytosh Mishra, Director General of Police, Crime Branch.
The recruitment test for the Combined Police Service Examination, 2024, initially scheduled for October 5-6, was postponed after 117 aspirants, including three middlemen, were arrested in Berhampur. The Crime Branch subsequently detained additional suspects linked to the scandal.
Preliminary investigations suggest the fraud was facilitated by outsourcing the exam to private agencies. Candidates were allegedly transported to an undisclosed location in Andhra Pradesh days before the test for preparatory sessions based on leaked questions. Shockingly, the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) had outsourced the exam to ITI Limited, a central PSU, which subcontracted the process to Bhubaneswar based Silicon Techlab and Panchsoft Technologies headed by Sankar Prusty, one of the key conspirators.
As many as 1.53 lakh candidates had applied for 933 sub-inspector posts. Reports indicate that aspirants were allegedly paying up to Rs 10 lakh in advance to the fraudulent network to secure recruitment. The Odisha Police Recruitment Board has postponed the exam following the scandal, and authorities are committed to a thorough investigation to ensure accountability.
The arrests mark a significant step in dismantling the massive job for cash scam, exposing systemic lapses in recruitment oversight, and safeguarding the interests of genuine candidates.