E-Paper
CBI lodges FIR in Odisha police recruitment scam case
The Odisha Police Recruitment Board, which conducts the exam, had outsourced the recruitment process to ITI Limited, which further sub-contracted the execution to Silicon Tech Lab Pvt Ltd.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in a case related to the alleged question paper leak in the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) 2024 in Odisha.
The FIR has charged 114 candidates, including alleged masterminds Shankar Prusty and Munna Mohanty, of committing “organised crime and sabotaging the public examination for monetary and wrongful gain”.
According to the FIR lodged at the anticorruption branch police station of the agency in Bhubaneswar, the suspects have been booked under multiple sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including Sections 319(2), 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 111, 61(2), and 3(5), along with Sections 11(1) and 12(1) of the Odisha Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024.
The FIR noted that the examination for the post of sub-inspector of police and equivalent ranks was scheduled for October 5 and 6, 2025. But acting on confidential inputs, police officials in Berhampur town intercepted three buses near the bordering area of Ichhapuram in Andhra Pradesh on September 30 night. As many as 114 candidates of the SI recruitment exam were found being transported in air-conditioned buses and when questioned, the aspirants allegedly confessed to being in touch with kingpins Mohanty of Bhubaneswar and Prusty, among others, who had allegedly leaked confidential information relating to the question paper. Each candidate had reportedly paid ₹25 lakh for access to the leaked question paper.
The Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB), which conducts the exam, had outsourced the recruitment process to ITI Limited, which further sub-contracted the execution to Silicon Tech Lab Pvt Ltd. The latter had engaged Panchsoft Tech Lab Pvt Ltd for field-level activities, including centre vetting, frisking, and supervision. Preliminary investigation revealed the direct and indirect involvement of certain individuals linked to Silicon Tech Lab and Panchsoft Tech Lab, who allegedly facilitated the nexus.
The case originated from an FIR registered at Golanthara Police station of Berhampur on September 30, after which it was transferred to state CID.
The CBI said officials from OPRB as well as those in ITI Ltd would be interrogated to understand the full extent of the conspiracy and the role of various individuals and organisations involved in the alleged scam.
B Samal, additional superintendent of police at CBI’s ACB Bhubaneswar, is leading the investigation.
