Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Wednesday apprehended an additional associate of Sankar Prusty, the principal suspect in the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector recruitment fraud case. Describing the arrest as a significant advancement, the Odisha Police announced that the Crime Branch team has detained Sagar Kumar Gouda (22), a resident of Balipada in Ganjam district, as part of the ongoing inquiry into the extensive organized criminal conspiracy involving fraudulent practices in the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE)-2024. Authorities reported that Gouda, currently residing at MKCG Medical Campus in Baidyanathpur, is recognized as a close associate of the main accused, Prusty.
During the investigation, the Crime Branch discovered that Gouda was instrumental in managing the operations of the Balasore module, a crucial segment of the organized criminal network implicated in the recruitment scam. “Following the directives of the principal accused, Prusty, Gouda coordinated logistical arrangements and ensured the implementation of the plan on-site,” stated the Odisha Police. Furthermore, it was revealed that Gouda had traveled to Digha in West Bengal on September 29, where hotel accommodations were reserved by another key suspect, Aravinda Das, for the candidates seeking recruitment. According to the plan, he was to oversee and manage the clandestine activities in Digha in direct collaboration with Prusty.
To date, the Odisha Police has arrested 126 individuals, including main accused Prusty and 114 aspiring candidates related to this case. Prusty, who owns Panchsoft Technologies, a firm that secured part of the contract for the recruitment examination, has asserted that the scam involved irregularities amounting to Rs 1,000 crore and that he “surrendered” to expose those implicated in the conspiracy. In a notable development, the Centre, acting on the request of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, ordered a CBI investigation into the multi-crore scam on Tuesday.