Overview

• Odisha Police’s Crime Branch says a criminal syndicate worked to subvert the sub-inspector recruitment process for monetary gain.
• With the arrest of alleged operative Biswaranjan Behera, who collected original certificates and blank cheques from candidates, total arrests have reached 118, according to the Crime Branch.
• The Odisha Police Recruitment Board postponed the October 5–6 written test after earlier detentions, spurring protests in Bhubaneswar by aspirants seeking accountability.
• Police reports say candidates admitted agreeing to pay up to ₹25 lakh per post, with ₹10 lakh upfront, and many were intercepted on buses headed to an Andhra Pradesh ‘special coaching’ hub.
• Opposition parties are demanding a CBI or judicial probe as investigators scrutinize a subcontracting chain from ITI Ltd to Silicon and then Panchsoft, with alleged organisers Shankar Prusti and Muna Mohanty under the scanner.