Not inclined to transfer TSPSC question paper leak case to CBI: HC

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court said it was not inclined to transfer the probe into the TS Public Service Commission question paper leak to the CBI. The inquiry is being carried out by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police.

The court observed that the investigation by the SIT was going at a slow pace, but was satisfactory. The single bench of Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, which is adjudicating the petition seeking a CBI probe into the case, directed the SIT to file a status report by June 5.

Justice Reddy perused the status reports dated April 10 and 24 filed by the SIT and opined that it should draft a senior IPS officer into the investigation like the commissioner of police of either the Hyderabad, Rachakonda or Cyberabad commissionerate, who could review the investigation and then file a status report.

The judge asked why the SIT could not achieve a breakthrough in tracing the culprits behind the leak of question papers. It has been more than one and a half months after the SIT had stepped in to investigate the case.

Justice Reddy also opined that unearthing the culprits was very important and how they got the papers must be found out and it should be looked into, as it was more important.

The court posed a series of questions to Advocate-General B.S. Prasad and K. Narasinga Rao, assistant commissioner of police, Central Crime Station, Hyderabad, who is a part of the SIT.

The court asked them how many outsourcing staff and regular employees in the TSPSC and their relatives had written the recruitment exams got more than 100 marks. The court also questioned the delay in the probe.

A-G Prasad replied that out of 18 outsourcing employees who appeared for the TSPSC examination, only one person had secured a no-objection certificate to appear for the examination and the others were being questioned.

He informed the court that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory report in this case was awaited because of which investigation has been delayed. Prasad said that the investigation was being done under the supervision of the Hyderabad police commissioner and the SIT would file a final report in a couple of days.
The judge observed, "prima facie I am of the view that the investigation by SIT into the question paper leak is slow... however, this court is satisfied with the investigation done so far.”