By Sunil Jena, Editor-in-Chief | The Politics Odia
Bhubaneswar: The controversy surrounding the Police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment scam in Odisha continues to escalate, with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staging a massive protest in Cuttack demanding justice for the affected aspirants and a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities.
The BJD accused the state administration of protecting influential people involved in the recruitment racket and warned of an intensified statewide agitation if a CBI probe is not ordered soon. Several job aspirants also joined the protest, expressing anger over the large-scale corruption and demanding transparency.
Meanwhile, the investigation by the Crime Branch has exposed shocking details of a well-organized fake job syndicate. The racket’s network appears to extend beyond Odisha, involving multiple educational institutions and private testing agencies.
On Sunday, a raid was conducted at the Lingaraj Infosol Institute in Bhubaneswar, where the accused Shankar Prusty was allegedly operating the racket. The Crime Branch has already arrested five middlemen — including Biswaranjan Behera and Arbind Das of Balasore — and interrogations are underway. So far, 119 people have been detained, but the kingpin remains at large.
Suspicion is now growing over the involvement of Silicon Tech Lab and Punchsoft, the firms linked to Shankar Prusty. Investigators are probing whether the entire scam had roots inside Lok Seva Bhawan (the state secretariat), raising serious questions about the possible involvement of high-profile officials.
The Crime Branch is also examining whether any police officers were connected to the syndicate and why action has not been taken against them yet. Teams have been deployed across the state and outside Odisha to trace the mastermind. The Call Detail Records (CDRs) of key accused are being analysed, and the banks may soon receive requests for financial transaction records linked to the scam.
Authorities have instructed all boards and commissions to submit reports of recruitment exams cancelled between June 2024 and October 2025, as the scandal may have affected multiple examinations.
Reports indicate that Shankar Prusty, allegedly the main architect of this massive scam, has gone underground. His close associate Munna Mahanty reportedly arranged three buses to transport candidates from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad, further revealing the scale of the operation.
As the probe continues, public trust in the recruitment process has been severely shaken. The demand for accountability is growing louder — not just from political parties but from thousands of youth who now see this scandal as a betrayal of their future.
