SI test exam papers swapped in Kol press: CBI | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: The CBI, probing the sub-inspector (SI) recruitment scam, has found that a private agency entrusted with preparing and printing the exam papers secretly swapped the question sets at a Kolkata printing press, without the knowledge of the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB).The recruitment exams, originally scheduled for Oct 5 and 6, 2025, were cancelled on Sept 30 following allegations of a question paper leak.According to the CBI chargesheet filed recently, “Accused Suresh Chandra Nayak, director of Silicon Techlab Private Limited, which was assigned to prepare, print and transport the question papers, changed the packets handed over to the printing press on September 10, 2025, without the knowledge of OPRB.”The chargesheet stated that the company prepared 5 sets of question papers, from which OPRB was to select 1 for printing. OPRB chose packet no. 5. However, Nayak pressed for an additional set to be kept as standby, citing unforeseen circumstances. The board agreed and selected packet 3 as backup.On Sept 9, 2025, OPRB chairman Susanta Nath (ADG-ranked IPS officer), member Awinash Kumar (IGP), and Nayak visited the Kolkata press, where packet no. 5 was handed over for printing. The following day, Nayak visited the press alone and allegedly changed the packet, keeping OPRB officials in the dark.“Shockingly, the chargesheet makes no mention of possible complicity on the part of the printing press authorities, who permitted the swap without alerting OPRB,” said Sahadeb Pradhan, a candidate.The chargesheet also highlighted that several of the accused, including Arabinda Das, Lokanath Sahoo, Muna Mohanty and Shankar Prusty, were also involved in an alleged question leak of the SI recruitment exam in March 2025. The exam, originally scheduled for March 8 and 9, 2025 were cancelled on March 6. However, the chargesheet was silent on the exact circumstances and source of that leak.A Vadodara-based company was selected to prepare the questions for the March exams. TOI on Oct 24 had first reported that the cancellation was triggered by an anonymous tip-off to the govt, alleging large-scale corruption by the Vadodara firm, whose contract was cancelled on May 28.
