School clerk among those arrested by K'taka police for SSLC Science paper leak

More than a month after the end of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams in Karnataka, a case of exam paper leak has been reported in the Ramanagara district. The district police have marked eight people, including a clerk of a private school in Magadi, for arrest, for allegedly leaking the question paper of the Science exam which was held on April 11. The accused clerk was identified as Range Gowda. A case under the Karnataka Education Act (1983), the IT Act (2002) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused and the police say that the investigation is ongoing.

The complaint was filed by the Deputy Director of Public Instructions (DDPI) of Ramanagara district on Tuesday, May 24, against the clerical staff of the private school and a few others. The question paper was supposed to have been leaked on the day of the exam, which began at 10:30 am on April 11. The question paper was allegedly circulated online before it was given to the students in the exam. Gowda is accused of taking a photograph of the exam paper and sending it to a WhatsApp group. The New Indian Express reported that the WhatsApp group allegedly consisted of some teachers as well. The police suspect that the members of this group benefitted from the paper leak by not reporting it to the police or education department officials. 

"Arrest procedures are going on and eight persons will be arrested. A person identified as Devaraj approached the police on May 19 and accused a few people of being involved in malpractice during the SSLC exams. The names of the suspects mentioned in the petition were called for questioning and prima facie it appears that there was malpractice during the Science exam. The police called the DDPI and explained to him the seriousness of the case, after which he filed an official police complaint. As the results are already out, nothing more can happen other than punishment for the accused," an officer who is a part of investigations was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.