BHUBANESWAR: Sankar Prusty, one of the alleged key conspirators of the police sub-inspector (SI) recruitment scam, was charged in a murder case in Ganjam district eight years back.
He along with a group of people had reportedly offered money to a father-son duo in Brahmanachhai village of Hinjili on February 20, 2017 to cast vote in favour of their preferred candidate during the panchayat elections.
When the youth refused to accept the offer, Sankar and his associates reportedly kidnapped and killed him, the FIR drawn by police revealed. They were also charged with assault of the deceased’s father. Hinjili police then registered a case of murder against Sankar and 53 other anti-socials in connection with the case.
That Panchsoft Technologies Pvt Ltd, of which Sankar is a director, was awarded key tasks for SI recruitment test has exposed the absence of oversight which compromised the crucial examination.
“Minutes after the 114 candidates and three middlemen were arrested near Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border on September 30, Sankar and his wife’s mobile phones were found switched off and they have been untraceable ever since. He is the key conspirator of the syndicate and his arrest is important to nab all the masterminds,” said a senior officer of the Crime Branch (CB) which is probing the case.
In fact, Central PSU ITI Ltd was awarded the tender for the exam and it sub-contracted the work to Bhubaneswar-based Silicon Techlab Pvt Ltd which sublet works to Panchsoft. Sources said Silicon Techlab reportedly paid Rs 35 lakh to Panchsoft to provide manpower to perform various tasks at the examination centres across the state during CPSE.
Sources said Sankar’s wealth increased exponentially in recent years. “CB is investigating whether Sankar’s firm was also sub-let important tasks by other third-party agencies during various government examinations held in the state in the last two years,” the sources added.
Sankar also owns a coaching centre named Kedarnath Technologies in Jagannathpur under Chamakhandi police station limits in Berhampur. He was also in contact with the management of various other coaching centres and had possibly managed to collect the details of candidates through them, the sources added. He is believed to have engaged the middlemen to lure candidates on the promise of providing them SI jobs against kickbacks ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per applicant.
“Sankar mostly communicated on WhatsApp in a bid to leave no trail behind. All efforts are being made to nab him and collect important details about the entire syndicate,” said a senior CB officer.
The CB suspects the syndicate’s senior members are based outside Odisha. “They keep track of every third-party agency conducting government examinations in different states and approach them to engage in malpractices and make quick money worth crores,” the CB sources added.
