BHUBANESWAR: The ED, which conducted searches at 12 locations in Odisha and West Bengal over the last two weeks in connection with the police sub-inspector recruitment scam, has found that shares in Silicon Techlab Pvt Ltd (STPL) were transferred to another company under a purported share purchase agreement but was allegedly not filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
The SI examination, conducted by the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) and scheduled for October 5 and 6 last year was awarded to ITI Limited, a Kolkata-based Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE). However, ITI Limited sub-contracted the work to Bhubaneswar-based STPL, which, in turn, handed over key tasks to Panchsoft Technologies. Panchsoft was headed by Sankar Prusty, while STPL was promoted by Suresh Nayak.
Investigation revealed that a majority stake in STPL was acquired by PSIL International Limited, whose directors were Sameer Rath and his wife, Saswati Mishra, the ED said in a statement issued on Wednesday. PSIL was formerly known as Patnaik Steel International Limited.
“The purported share purchase agreement was executed on August 5, 2023, and the matter is under investigation. The probe suggests that the agreement was never submitted to the Registrar of Companies by either of the two companies,” the agency said.
During the investigation, the ED found that PSIL had acquired a stake in STPL and taken control of its management. However, Nayak continued to serve as a director of STPL and corresponded with ITI Limited regarding the conduct of the SI recruitment examination without the requisite authorisation.
Despite knowing that Nayak was handling the examination process without authorisation, PSIL directors Rath and Mishra did not inform ITI Limited, the ED said. Nayak subsequently gained unauthorised access to the examination papers, it added.
The searches unearthed the alleged involvement of companies and entities that had so far remained outside the investigative net. They also revealed the possible role of other persons, including those associated with OPRB and other firms, the agency said.
The ED said these entities were found to be linked to the entire examination cycle. Evidence collected during the searches indicates that the question paper was leaked in an organised manner and that substantial proceeds of crime were generated through cash collected from candidates, the agency said.