Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of aspirants for the Odisha Police Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment staged a protest outside the office of the Odisha Uniformed Services Selection Staff Commission (OUSSSC) Wednesday, demanding the immediate conduct of the recruitment examination, which has remained stalled for nearly 18 months. The commission’s chairman later assured them the examination would be completed by October.
Under the banner of Students Against Corruption, the protesters gathered outside the OUSSSC office and staged a symbolic inauguration of the commission’s office. They named the office and cut a black ribbon, alleging that despite the commission being constituted nearly three months ago, it had failed to expedite the recruitment process.
The aspirants alleged that after the recruitment process conducted by the erstwhile Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB) was scrapped over alleged irregularities, the government dissolved the board and entrusted the examination to the newly formed OUSSSC. However, they claimed the commission has yet to announce the examination schedule.
They further alleged that even three months after its formation, the commission has neither launched its official website nor provided a clear timeline for the examination, leaving nearly 1.5 lakh aspirants — many of whom have been preparing for more than two years — in uncertainty.
Students Against Corruption convenor Bibhuti Bhushan Mohapatra said the symbolic inauguration was meant to draw attention to the delay.
“Perhaps the government has not announced the examination date because the office was never inaugurated. We have done it today. The government must act sensitively and immediately announce the examination schedule,” he said, warning that the agitation would continue if no concrete steps were taken.
During the protest, the aspirants stopped the OPCC president and briefed him on their grievances. He later accompanied them to the OUSSSC office for talks with the commission’s chairman, who assured them the recruitment examination would be completed by October.
Following the assurance, the protesters withdrew their sit-in.
