TSPSC scam: District accounts officer question paper also leaked, 2 techies held

Hyderabad: In yet another sordid development in the TSPSC question paper leak scam, the city police SIT, which is investigating the case, found that the district accounts officer (DAO) question paper was also leaked. The main accused Pulidindi Praveen Kumar had sold the paper, the exam for which was held in February, to a techie from Khammam for Rs 6 lakh, investigation revealed.

The techie identified as Sushmitha and her husband Sai Loukik, an automobile dealer, who purchased the paper for her, have been arrested and sent to judicial remand.

The SIT has also started questioning candidates who have appeared for the Group I prelims entrance and are already in government service. They were found to be in regular contact with Praveen and the other accused.

During the custodial interrogation of Praveen, SIT found suspicious transactions in his bank account. On inquiry, he said the money was from the proceeds of an old car he had sold. When SIT inquired with the person identified as Sai Loukik who had sent the amount, the response did not match. On further inquiry, SIT found that his wife had written the Group I prelims and the DAO recruitment examination.

Further investigation revealed that Sushmitha could not qualify for the Group I prelims due to wrong marking in the OMR sheet. She approached the TSPSC office with a grievance. Praveen, who saw her, offered to give a question paper for the DAO examination and the deal was fixed for Rs 10 lakh and Rs six lakh was paid in advance.

Meanwhile, SIT, which has been focussing on suspicious contacts in Praveen’s call records, have started summoning government employees, who were in constant touch with the accused.