In a significant crackdown, Odisha Police on Thursday arrested two serving Indian Navy personnel and one dismissed staffer for allegedly extorting money from Agniveer aspirants during the recent recruitment drive at INS Chilka.
The accused have been identified as Vinay Kumar Ray (38), currently posted at INS Chilka, Satyam Chahar (23) of INS Kesari in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Bhoosan (25), a former Navy employee.
According to police, the trio allegedly demanded bribes ranging from ₹30,000 to ₹1.2 lakh from candidates in exchange for “ensured selection” into the Agniveer scheme. The incident came to light after a candidate lodged a complaint stating that he was added to a WhatsApp group where one of the accused offered help in clearing the selection process, including boosting exam scores.
Alarmed by the unethical offer, the candidate alerted the authorities at INS Chilka. Lieutenant Commander Adwitiya Singh, the Training Correspondence Officer, subsequently lodged a formal complaint at Balugaon Police Station on April 19.
SP (Khurda) Sagarika Nath confirmed the arrests and said, “The accused used their positions and inside access to deceive aspirants and threaten them with cancellation of their candidature if they refused to pay.”
The Indian Navy has initiated a review of all selected candidates’ documents to ensure no appointments were made under fraudulent means. The case has raised serious concerns about the sanctity of the recruitment process and prompted calls for stricter monitoring during future drives.
