Bengaluru: A strongroom with no lock as Chemistry paper leaked

Bengaluru: An inquiry  by the state treasury department has found that  the strongroom of the Hanagal sub- treasury in Haveri district from where the II PU final examination Chemistry question paper was leaked earlier this year, was  neither  locked nor sealed as required, but only latched, easily allowing  anyone to enter it.

In  fact, the security of the strongroom was compromised by  a door at its rear,  the department said in its report. “This door was installed at  the spot where the police should have been monitoring the sub- treasury,” it explained, adding that police security, which is a must for all sub- treasury offices, had not been provided at the Hangal building for the last two years.

Even more damningly, the  departmental inquiry has found the entire Hanagal sub- treasury building  unfit to be called a stronghold as it is faultily designed. “Two key safety systems were not followed at the sub- treasury. But despite its poor safety features, both the police and PWD have been certifying it as a safe building every year,” it noted.

"If the report is true there’s a chance that all the question papers were leaked. The state government must order a high level investigation," said a worried II PU student, Rakshith Pujari. Several of the II PU science students,  who  appeared for the final examination in March and Aprilthis year,  had voiced a similar fear about all the questions papers having been leaked, but went unheard by the  pre -university department , which conducted a re- examination for only the Chemistry paper that was leaked on WhatsApp.