The Crime Branch has cracked down on the person responsible for the question paper leak of the infamous Mathematics II (or M II) paper, held for students trying to clear their arrears on December 3 - an employee working in the Controller of Examinations office is believed to be responsible for leaking the paper to a "relative of his" who also needed to clear the arrear, according to a statement from the CB-CID.
The special team from the police that had been formed to crack down on the leak that led to the cancellation of the exam for over 50,000 students from across the state, identified the employee responsible for the leak and is attempting to arrest him. He is believed to be absconding though senior police officials have said that it is a "matter of time" before they make the arrest.
After the leak came to be confirmed, by way of an anonymous tip to the University, the Controller of Examination conducted an internal probe among students and staff before escalating the case to the CB-CID on December 7.
Meanwhile, the men whom he passed the leaked paper to - his relative Sureshkumar K and his friend Harikrishnan A - have been arrested for spreading the leaked paper amongst their fellow 'arrear peers'. While Sureshkumar had studied at the RMK College of Engineering and finished in 2016, Harikrishnan was a student of the Kings College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur. Both of them are believed to be grappling with arrears in the M II paper and that is the reason why they resorted to this subterfuge. "They may have gotten away with it had they not circulated it amongst friends on WhatsApp. That is how they got caught," said a senior police official.
Anna University officials are believed to be shocked by the impunity with which a sealed question paper was copied and leaked - especially for an exam that is among the highest volume in terms of arrears. According to a professor in the varsity, changes in the examination protocol may be effected soon, "The VC is believed to have called for a review of the examination protocol and the possibility of using technological aids to strengthen the security surrounding question papers going forward," she said.
