Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government agency created to secure the recruitment of police and other uniformed personnel on Saturday said that the process for hiring constables has already begun.

The OUSSSC's statement came hours after BJD president Naveen Patnaik raised questions on the delay in conducting the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) which was cancelled in the wake of a paper leak in 2025.

The Odisha Uniformed Services Staff Selection Commission (OUSSSC) was formed after the cancellation of the recruitment process last year.

"The OUSSSC wishes to inform all concerned candidates and aspiring applicants that the Commission has initiated the process for recruitment to Constable-level posts and services under Odisha Police and other Department(s)," the Commission said in a statement.

It also said that a detailed advertisement in this regard will be issued shortly.

"The Commission further informs that necessary steps are being taken on priority for expediting the examination process for the Combined Police Services Examination (CPSE)-2024, for which applications have already been received," it said.

The agency also said that it would communicate all important information through authorised and official channels, as well as on its website, which will be live shortly.

"The Commission is making concerted efforts to take the recruitment and examination processes forward at the earliest, while ensuring that the interests of the candidates and the sanctity of the examination process are duly safeguarded," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Patnaik had stated that while one sub-inspector batch has completed training and received appointments, thousands of aspirants are still in uncertainty even now due to the paper leak.

The leader of the opposition in the state assembly also ridiculed the BJP administration over taking credit for completing training for 336 sub-inspectors (SI) of police, the process of whose recruitment was initiated during the previous BJD rule.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday took the salute at the convocation ceremony of the 13th batch of SIs.

"However, the real story is that the appointment process for these 336 officers-who completed two years of training and joined the Odisha Police-was initiated during the BJD government," he pointed out.

He extended best wishes to all the newly appointed officers and urged them to work with a firm resolve to strengthen the judicial system along with serving the people.

These 336 people were recruited in 2021, and there has been no hiring in the SI post since then.

Alleging that the BJP government has already wasted nearly a year for thousands of young men and women aspirants of the Combined Police Service Examination, Patnaik blamed the incompetence of the 'double-engine' government for disappointment among Odisha's youth community.

The BJP government has pushed the dreams and futures of aspirants into uncertainty, the former chief minister alleged.

Stating that this delay in conducting a fresh examination is weakening the self-confidence of youths, Patnaik claimed it is also damaging public trust in the impartiality and transparency of government recruitment.

"The government should immediately organise the exam again and issue a notification," he said.

The BJD president also asserted that the people of Odisha are no longer willing to listen to the BJP government's "empty rhetoric" and they are preparing to give a fitting response to the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the CBI has been probing into the paper leak scam in the Combined Police Service Exam held in 2025.

The examination was cancelled for the third time before Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi handed over the scam to the CBI.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.