Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail petitions filed by Shankar Prusty, the mastermind of the multi-crore Odisha Police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment scam, and his wife, Deeptimayee Sahu.
The court, while hearing the matter, directed Deeptimayee to appear before the trial court and file a regular bail application as per legal procedure.
The scam came to the fore after the interception of three buses carrying 114 candidates and three agents by the Berhampur Police in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on September 29 night. Both Deeptimayee and Prusty have been absconding since then. Prusty was reportedly in Delhi when these arrests were made and is believed to have fled to Dubai.
Panchsoft Technologies Pvt Ltd, of which Prusty is a director, was awarded key tasks for the SI recruitment test. While Central PSU ITI Ltd was awarded the tender for the exam, it sub-contracted the work to Bhubaneswar-based Silicon Techlab Pvt Ltd which sublet works to Panchsoft, which was paid Rs 35 lakh to provide manpower to perform various tasks at the examination centres across the state during Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE)-2024 conducted by the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB).
Earlier this month, the Crime Branch, which was probing the racket, arrested Prusty’s two main associates Munna Mohanty and Srikanta Maharana alias Rinku. And a day later, four more accused Priyadarsini Samal, T Abhimanyu Dora, Arabinda Das and Biswaranjan Behera, who were agents and part of the syndicate run by Prusty, were also nabbed.
Prusty closely monitored the syndicate through agents who contacted aspirants, collected original certificates and blank cheques, and promised question papers in exchange for payments of Rs 20–25 lakh.
Reports further claimed that Prusty was charged in a murder case in Ganjam district eight years back.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has decided to hand over the investigation of the scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in view of alleged involvement of individuals from outside Odisha and ensure greater transparency and accountability in the case.