The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bhubaneswar, has initiated its investigation into the alleged multi-crore Odisha Police Sub Inspector (SI) Recruitment scam.
The case was registered by the central agency on Wednesday, and the investigation of the scam has been entrusted to a senior officer with the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police.
Sources claimed that the CBI has reportedly sought all the case-related details from the Crime Branch.
The move follows a request from the Odisha government. On November 11, the Union government issued a notification transferring the investigation of the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE), 2024, irregularities case (originally 7/25) from the Odisha Police Crime Branch to the CBI. The CPSE-2024 was scheduled to be held on October 5 and 6, 2025.
The large-scale scam was first exposed by Odisha Police on the night of September 29, leading to the arrest of 114 aspirants and three middlemen after intercepting three buses in Andhra Pradesh. The investigation was initially registered at Golanthara Police Station and subsequently taken over by the Crime Branch on October 1, 2025.
The case stems from the subcontracting of the examination process. The Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) had tasked ITI Limited with conducting the CPSE-2024 for SI recruitment to ITI Limited, which later sublet the work to M/s Silicon Tech Pvt. Ltd.
The private agency, in turn, engaged Panchsoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., located at Patia in Bhubaneswar, where the alleged mastermind of the entire scam, Sankar Prusty, was a director, to handle key stages of the examination process.
The Odisha Police have so far arrested 126 people, including the prime accused Prusty and key associates like Muna Mohanty, Srikanta Maharana alias Rinku, and Arabinda Das.
During the investigation, suspicion arose that the roots of the corruption may extend beyond Odisha to other states, including Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. There were also indications of the involvement of an inter-state organised criminal gang in the case.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi , later, recommended a CBI probe into the matter to the Centre. Acting upon the Chief Minister’s request, the Centre directed a CBI investigation into the case.
