Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bhubaneswar Zone, on Friday launched a search operation at ten places located in Odisha and West Bengal in connection with the leak of the question paper for the Sub-Inspector Recruitment Exam-2024 in Odisha.
Sources revealed that searches were being carried out at premises linked to the alleged prime accused Shankar Prusty and his associates involved in the multi-crore SI recruitment scam.
“The case emanates from an FIR filed by Orissa Police in October 2025 when Orissa Police, on 30.09.2025, intercepted three buses carrying 114 candidates near the bordering area of Ichhapuram (Border town of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha) for leaking the question paper of SI Recruitment Exam scheduled to be conducted on 5th and 6th October 2025, in lieu of cash ranging between Rs.15 to Rs.30 Lakh per candidate,” informed ED sources.
On the recommendation of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the case, which was being investigated by the Odisha Police Crime Branch, was subsequently transferred to the CBI.
ED sources also added that the question paper was allegedly leaked by the persons associated with the entities to whom the work of conducting the exam was assigned.
Candidates were approached by the associates, and they were lured for providing the question paper in lieu of money and their original certificates were taken as a guarantee.
“During the searches, the role of agencies and associate persons are being examined. M/s Silicon Techlab Private Limited and M/s Panchsoft Technology Private Limited and their directors, along with other persons are being covered during the searches,” noted ED sources.
It is worth noting that the alleged mastermind behind the multi-crore Odisha Police SI recruitment examination scam, Shankar Prusty, was arrested by the Crime Branch team from Uttarakhand in November 2025.
Shankar Prusty, a director of Panchsoft Technologies, was nabbed by the sleuths from near the Nepal border in Uttarakhand on Saturday while he was trying to flee the country.