CBI files preliminary charges in SI recruitment scam case | Bhubaneswar News

Bhubaneswar: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing alleged irregularities in Odisha sub-inspector (SI) recruitment process, filed a preliminary chargesheet against 16 middlemen at its designated court here on Monday.The chargesheet claimed the accused — including key figures Shankar Prusty and Suresh Nayak — were part of an inter-state racket with links extending to Bihar. Two Bihar natives, Amit Bharti and Nitesh Kumar, who were recently arrested by CBI, have also been named in the chargesheet.“The accused lured candidates by offering leaked exam papers in exchange for payments of up to Rs 25 lakh,” the chargesheet stated. Prusty, owner of a private firm, and Nayak, promoter of another company, are accused of playing pivotal roles in the conspiracy. Their firms were contracted by a central public sector undertaking (PSU), which was engaged by Odisha police to conduct the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE)-2024. The chargesheet stated that candidates were taken on buses to multiple locations outside Odisha, where bribes ranging between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh were solicited in return for question papers.The recruitment drive, which aimed to fill 933 posts, including 609 police SIs, 253 armed SIs, 47 fire station officers and 24 assistant jailers, was cancelled on Sept 30, days before the exams were scheduled for Oct 5 and 6.So far, 130 arrests have been made in connection with the scam. Of these, five were carried out by CBI. The case first came to light on Sept 30 when Berhampur police arrested 117 people, including 114 candidates, who were taken to Andhra Pradesh on three buses from Bhubaneswar. The state crime branch later took over the probe and arrested eight middlemen before CBI formally took over the case on Nov 12.Prusty, currently in judicial custody, claimed before journalists that other individuals masterminded the operation, allegedly striking a Rs 1,000-crore deal to acquire the exam papers. However, he refrained from naming any politicians, officials or entities, leaving questions about the possible involvement of Odisha police, recruitment board, political parties or govt agencies unanswered.“Evidence so far confirms the involvement of two Bhubaneswar-based firms owned by Prusty and Nayak. CBI must now bring the central PSU under its investigation. The PSU cannot absolve itself of responsibility by outsourcing such a sensitive assignment,” a candidate said.