Odisha Police Constable Recruitment Exam Paper Substitution Case

In March 2025, a major scandal erupted during the Odisha Police Constable recruitment examination in India. It was discovered that answer sheets of multiple candidates were swapped at a designated examination center, orchestrated by the center superintendent Bikash Chandra Das and other staff members in collusion with aspirants. The Odisha Crime Branch, led by senior officer Arun Bothra, swiftly registered a case and arrested four key accused. Investigations revealed a racket that charged candidates large sums to replace their answer sheets with pre-written ones, ensuring selection. The state recruitment board acted as the complainant, and the case severely compromised the integrity of the recruitment process, affecting thousands of legitimate aspirants.

The Special Court in Bhubaneswar convicted the four accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Bikash Chandra Das received a seven-year prison term, while the other three were sentenced to five years each, along with substantial fines. The tainted candidates were debarred from all future government examinations.

The primary dispute centered on whether the swapped answer sheets were directly traceable to the accused officials and conspiring candidates, and whether the evidence collected, including handwriting analysis and seized original sheets, was sufficient to establish criminal conspiracy and breach of trust under Indian law.

The scandal triggered widespread public outrage and protests by unemployed youth. It severely eroded trust in the transparency of state recruitment systems, prompting the Odisha government to mandate biometric verification, CCTV surveillance with live feed, and centralised printing of answer sheets for all future competitive exams.