A large number of Student Congress members held a demonstration before the Odisha State Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) office here on Monday alleging massive corruption in the recruitment drives.
The agitators scuffled with the police while trying to barge into the OSSC office during a protest demanding a probe into the alleged ‘bribe for recruitment scandal’.
The agitation was carried out at the OSSC headquarters following the arrest of Biranchi Sahoo, Private Secretary to an OSSC member, by the Vigilance police The police had a tough time preventing party activists led by senior leaders like Suresh Routray, Manas Choudhury from storming into the OSSC office. The protesters alleged that several top officials at the office are involved in the bribery scandal in which Sahoo’s arrest was just a tip of the iceberg. “The bribe culture has been prevalent at the OSSC office for the last 21 years. It has come to light recently only after the bribe money could not be shared properly among the officials. We demand an impartial investigation into the recruitment of ineligible candidates, who got job by giving bribes. The future of many deserving candidates has been put in the dark,” said Student Congress leader Manas Choudhury.
The agitation would be intensified further until an investigation into the entire affair is ordered, he added. It is suspected that Sahoo, who has been arrested by the Vigilance on the charge of accumulating disproportionate assets, was running a job racket along with some other officials.