Bhubaneswar: The CBI has sought clearance from the state govt to ‘examine’ senior IPS officer Susanta Kumar Nath, if required, in connection with the sub‑inspector (SI) recruitment exam scam.Responding to a query from the state home department on Aug 3 about the status of the probe and Nath’s role — he earlier headed the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) — the CBI recently wrote, “The entire process of the examination is under investigation, including the role of exam‑conducting agencies, OPRB and others.”The agency added, “Permission under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) has been sought and is pending. After receipt of the permission, officials of the exam conducting agency and Susanta Kumar Nath may be required to be examined.”A copy of the letter is with TOI. Repeated attempts to reach Nath did not succeed.Sources said the state govt sought the probe status after forwarding a panel of names, including Nath, to the UPSC for shortlisting three candidates for the next DGP of Odisha. Following the CBI’s reply, Nath’s name was reportedly withdrawn from the list of probables, govt sources said.The SI exams, scheduled for Oct 5 and 6 last year, were abruptly cancelled on Sept 30 after allegations of a paper leak. Amid public and political uproar, the state govt handed the probe to the CBI on Oct 22, citing interstate links. The agency formally took charge on Nov 12 and filed a preliminary chargesheet against 16 accused on Dec 26.Investigators have pointed to an organised racket that allegedly leaked exam papers, with middlemen demanding up to Rs 25 lakh from aspirants.So far, 131 arrests have been made — 117 by Berhampur police, eight by the state crime branch and six by the CBI.According to CBI sources, OPRB had engaged the agency to conduct the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) 2024 to fill 933 posts, including 609 police SIs, 253 armed SIs, 47 fire station officers and 24 assistant jailers. The agency subcontracted a Bhubaneswar-based firm to prepare question papers, which, in turn, hired another Bhubaneswar-based company to supply manpower at exam centres — a chain of outsourcing that compromised the integrity of the exams. Key functionaries of the two city-based firms have already been arrested by the crime branch.
