Overview
- The Odisha Crime Branch arrested Shankar Prusty in Uttarakhand near the Indo-Nepal border after weeks of surveillance.
- Police sources say he was attempting to reach Nepal with plans to flee to Dubai.
- Investigators accuse the Panchsoft head of leaking SI exam papers and brokering Rs 20–25 lakh deals through agents who collected certificates and blank cheques from aspirants.
- The Orissa High Court earlier rejected anticipatory bail pleas by Prusty and his wife, directing her to appear before the trial court.
- The Odisha government has handed the case to the CBI due to its inter-state footprint, and the SI recruitment exam remains postponed pending the investigation.