Those who conspired to cancel Odisha SI exam will be exposed, says Shankar Prusty after reaching Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Shankar Prusty, the alleged mastermind of the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment exam scam, was brought to Bhubaneswar from New Delhi by a Crime Branch team today. Prusty, who had been evading arrest for weeks, was apprehended near the Nepal border in Uttarakhand on Saturday while allegedly planning to flee to Dubai.

Speaking to mediapersons after his arrival at the Bhubaneswar Airport, Prusty said, “Those who had conspired to cancel the exam will be exposed. I was not hiding; I was taking legal steps. I had sought anticipatory bail from the High Court, and the court had given me time. No case has been filed against my wife. All allegations against me are false. I have faith in the judiciary. I have no connection with any of the other accused.”

Also read: Odisha SI recruitment exam scam: Here's how the racket operated.

The Crime Branch has brought Prusty to Odisha on a transit remand. After landing at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, he was taken straight to the Crime Branch headquarters for interrogation.

Shankar Prusty had gone into hiding

Prusty, a native of Ganjam district and the owner of Panchsoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., had allegedly gone into hiding after the SI recruitment exam scam came to light. The Crime Branch had earlier issued lookout circulars against him and his associate, Muna Mohanty. While Mohanty was arrested from Dasapalla area of Nayagarh on October 17, Prusty had fled to Nepal via Delhi soon after the arrest of 114 SI aspirants linked to the scam.

The Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) had postponed the written examinations scheduled for October 5 and 6 following the arrests. The aspirants are accused of paying large sums to middlemen to obtain leaked question papers.

Amid growing controversy, the state government recently recommended a CBI probe into the alleged multi-crore recruitment scam, which is suspected to have interstate links.

Significant revelation by Crime Branch

Investigation by the Crime Branch has revealed that despite having no stable source of income, Muna Mohanty lived lavishly at Jagamara in Bhubaneswar. Investigators revealed that he ran a crime syndicate along with his associates, Srikanta Maharana alias Rinku, Arabinda Das, Biswaranjan Behera, T. Abhimanyu Dora, and Priyadarsini Samal, under the direction of Shankar Prusty, Director of Panchsoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Patia.

As per the police, the gang allegedly worked to break down the government machinery by tampering with the fairness of the examination process and shaking public confidence. Mohanty reportedly stayed away from the public eye while his agents collected original certificates and blank cheques from aspirants in exchange for leaked question papers. Each deal allegedly cost candidates between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.