Karnataka PU paper leak: In a few hours, minister's PA made Rs 10 lakh

BENGALURU: A personal assistant to a minister, a physical education teacher and a government official are the kingpins behind the sale of PU question papers that put a question mark over the state's education system.

In a major breakthrough in the investigation into the PU Chemistry paper leak scandal, CID teams working on the case on Monday arrested Manjunath, 47, a physical training teacher with The New Cambridge PU College at RPC Layout in Vijayanagar, Obalarajau, 51, Personal Assistant to the Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharanprakash Patil, and Rudrappa, 50, a official with Public Works Department in K. R. Circle. Rudrappa and Obalaraju are brothers-in-law.

Manjunath, the P.T. teacher, supplied the questions papers to both Obalaraju and Rudrappa. Police are investigating whether Manjunath’s wife, who is a lecturer in a PU college is involved. A LIC agent, Manjunath had “procured the question paper” from people whom he has not yet named. “He made Rs 10 lakhs within a few hours by distributing the question papers to students,” police said.

However sources close to the investigation said that the three arrested were just "receivers." Official sources said that the three men were tracked, based on the statements of students who had received the question papers. “When the students were questioned, they revealed that they had received papers from these men and they have been arrested. But the problem is, out of the three, only Manjunath has some contact with the people who supplied the question papers to him. There are multiple levels in the racket and it will be a Herculean task to get to the bottom of it," an official said.

April 12: CID racing against time
CID teams under CID DIG Sonia Narang are working to ensure that the men behind the leak are arrested before April 12 when there will be a re-examination - the third - for the Chemistry paper.  Narang, who is heading the investigation, told reporters that the information provided by the students and field intelligence led to the arrest of the three persons. "We are yet to know whether they were involved in similar offences in the past. They are a part of a larger racket and efforts are on trace the kingpin," she said.