Karnataka: CID grills eight students over question paper leak

BENGALURU: The CID sleuths probing the second PU chemistry question paper leak have detained eight students and are questioning them. CID sources said that the detained students had received the leaked question paper on both days, on March 21 and Thursday, through WhatsApp. “Investigations revealed that all the eight students had got the question paper around 7.30 pm on Wednesday, a day before the exams. They circulated it to more than 100 people. They have been detained and are being questioned to know from whom they got the question papers. Their mobile phones have been seized,” an official said.

The CID officials headed by DIG Sonia Narang also questioned more than 40 staff members of the PU Board on Friday. The CID teams are carrying out the investigation in Anekal, Malur, Bagepalli, Doddaballapura and other places. “Principals and other staff members of several colleges in those places have been questioned. Also, the police teams have questioned a retired lecturer, Shivakumar, an accused in a similar case in the past, and his associates in Tumakuru,” the official said.

Protests continue before board office
Tension prevailed before the PU Education Board building in Malleswaram on Friday morning when hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists protested against second time leak of PU Chemistry question paper. The first time leak happened on March 21.

The agitators shouted slogans against the government and the education ministry. When they tried to pushed their way through the police cordon, they were taken to preventive custody. They were taken to the jurisdictional police station and were later released after their names, contact numbers and addresses were recorded.

“Since the students and activists were more on Thursday, there were instances of stone pelting and high drama around the PU board building. To prevent any untoward incidents today, we had deployed a good number of KSRP security personnel,” said T.R. Suresh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Division).

‘April 12 was best option for re-examination’
Faced with fresh protests by students over another Chemistry re-exam, officers of the  primary and secondary education department are once again  having to justify their decision, taken following a second leak of the question paper in a matter of 10 days, on Thursday.  

While it has now been decided to hold the chemistry re-exam on April 12,   students complain they will find it hard to write it while preparing for the many admission tests for professional courses.

They said there are at least seven engineering and medical admission tests lined up, including the JEE, over the next few weeks. "It will not be easy to write so many exams and also the Chemistry paper.  The II PUC exams should have been completed early going by the original schedule. An examination on April 12 will means we cannot prepare well for the other admission tests,” said  a II PUC student, Sharath Adiga.

“Many students are supposed to attend crash courses for the various admission tests in April. But now they could have a problem on their hands,” said Mr. Gopala Krishna, a lecturer from a private city college.

But the  officers say they have picked the best option considering how packed the month is with competitive exams. "There is one or the other admission test every day. But April 12 was free. So it was the best option. We also need to keep in mind the ongoing SSLC exams as they are conducted in composite PU colleges,” they said.