The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a formal case against six individuals, including a serving officer of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, in connection with an alleged recruitment scam that surfaced last year. The development follows months of preliminary inquiries and points to a conspiracy involving forged documents and insider collusion.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused include Rajashree Panda, Sangram Mishra, Sai Sagar Kar, Sambit Mishra, Sruti Sagar Kar, and Sudhir Kumar Pradhan, who serves as the Assistant Administrative Officer in AIIMS Bhubaneswar’s recruitment cell.
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Forged Certificates and Insider Support
Investigators allege that in 2023, Rajashree Panda and Sangram Mishra were appointed as Sanitary Inspectors (Grade-II), while Sai Sagar Kar and Sambit Mishra were recruited as Medical Record Technicians. All four allegedly secured their positions using forged educational and work experience certificates.
The documents were purportedly arranged by Sruti Sagar Kar, a private company operator and relative of the recruits, from non-existent colleges and hospitals in Ghaziabad and Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Verification attempts by AIIMS Bhubaneswar failed when letters sent to these institutions were returned undelivered. The FIR accuses Pradhan of knowingly suppressing this information and maintaining contact with Sruti, thereby enabling the appointments to go through without higher authority intervention.
Institutional Response and Ongoing Probe
AIIMS Bhubaneswar has distanced itself from the irregularities, stating that the recruitment process was conducted by a central public sector undertaking (PSU). Dr. Dillip Kumar Parida, Medical Superintendent of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, has stated that the establishment has nothing to do with the recruitment irregularities. They have handed over all requisite documents sought by the CBI and are fully cooperating in the probe.
The CBI is expected to summon the accused for questioning in the coming weeks and is likely to scrutinize recruitment procedures for other posts filled during the same period. Officials have hinted at the possibility of widening the scope of the investigation if evidence suggests systemic malpractice. The alleged scam raises questions about oversight mechanisms in public recruitment processes and the vulnerability of institutions to insider manipulation.