Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday conducted searches at 10 premises in Odisha and West Bengal in connection with the alleged leak of the question paper for the 2024 sub-inspector (SI) recruitment exam in Odisha, sources said.
ED officials from the Bhubaneswar zonal office carried out searches at eight locations in Odisha and two in neighbouring West Bengal, they said.
The case stems from an FIR registered by Odisha Police in October 2025 and subsequently transferred to the CBI.
On October 30 last year, police intercepted three buses carrying 114 candidates near Ichhapuram, close to the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border, in connection with the alleged paper leak.
The exam was scheduled to be held on October 5 and 6, 2025.
The candidates were allegedly promised access to the question paper in exchange for payments ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh each, sources said.
The question paper was allegedly leaked by individuals associated with entities engaged in conducting the exam, an ED official said.
The candidates were approached by intermediaries who offered to provide the question paper in exchange for money. Their original certificates were allegedly taken as security, the official said.
