Bhubaneswar: In a significant development in the investigation into sub-inspector (SI) recruitment scam in Odisha, gathering pace, the CBI on Friday arrested Biranchi Narayan Nayak, the suspected mastermind of its Digha module.
According to sources, he was picked up from Paralakhemundi. Biranchi’s mobile phone along with several important documents and papers, which could reveal the money trail and broader conspiracy, have been seized.
This is the first arrest by the central agency since taking over the investigation on November 12, and marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing probe into the multi-crore fraud that involved leaking question papers and extorting money from job aspirants.
It is being suspected that the Digha module—linked to West Bengal—coordinated with local brokers in Odisha to allegedly target vulnerable candidates, manipulating exam processes and compromising fairness in recruitment. Though a resident of Paralakhemundi, Biranchi operated from Balasore, identifying aspirants from nearby areas and Digha against huge commissions from alleged mastermind of recruitment examination scam Sankar Prusty, the sources added.
The scam came to light after Berhampur police intercepted three buses travelling to Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh on September 29 and detained 114 aspirants of the sub-inspector examination scheduled for October 5 and 6, and three middlemen. Each candidate had agreed to pay Rs 25 lakh in instalments, Rs 10 lakh as advance and the remaining Rs 15 lakh after they were selected for the job.
Earlier this week, the Odisha government terminated Silicon Techlab’s empanelment due to its alleged role in the scam. Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB), which is mandated to conduct the exam, had outsourced the work to ITI Limited, a central PSU in Kolkata. ITI Limited had sublet the work to Silicon and key tasks were given to Panchsoft Technologies headed by Prusty.
The investigation had established that Pursty was solely responsible for preparation, printing and transportation of the question papers. He had hired agents to identify and collect original certificates and blank cheques from aspirants in exchange for the leaked question papers.
With the arrest of Biranchi, the number of middlemen taken into custody has gone up to 13.
Sources further stated that four officers of OPRB are also under CBI scanner and they are likely to be questioned soon.