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Journalism of Courage
Photos of the Telangana SSC Board exam papers were circulated on social media just minutes after the exam commenced for two consecutive days on Monday and Tuesday. While the alleged paper leaks have left students and parents anxious, the controversy has also led to stirrings in the political circles of the state. On late Tuesday night, the police arrested BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on charges of him being associated with the alleged leak of the Hindi question paper.
On Tuesday morning, a minor boy climbed a tree to access an exam centre on the first floor of an exam centre in Hanamkonda in Warangal district and took photos of the Hindi question paper, the police said. He then forwarded it to his friends. The police has also named the BJP state president as one of the recipients of the photographs.
Similarly, on Monday, photos of the Telugu exam paper were distributed after the exam started. Police tracked down an invigilator at an exam centre in Tandur who clicked photos of the question paper of an absent student and shared them with another teacher. The “leaks” come after the uproar over the alleged leak of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) question paper leak last month.
What is the TPSC question paper leak controversy?
On March 14, the Telangana Government set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe allegations that the question paper for the exam of Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) was leaked days before the exam was held on February 27.
The SIT found that P Praveen Kumar, an assistant section officer and PA to Secretary of TSPSC, downloaded the question paper and sold it for Rs 10 lakhs. He took the help of a network administrator A Rajashekar Reddy in his office and logged into the computer of a section officer in whose computer the question was stored. The SIT found that D Renuka, an old colleague of Praveen, who joined the TSPSC in 2017, had approached him with Rs 10 lakhs offer to get the question paper. The SIT is also investigating if Praveen and others leaked other TSPSC question papers for exams held in recent years. The SIT has so far arrested 10 persons in this case including some aspirants who purchased the question paper.
What was the fallout of this controversy?
Following a furore from Opposition parties and students organisations, the TSPSC cancelled exam for Assistant Executive Engineers (Civil) held on March 5 and announced that the exam would be held again. The TSPSC also cancelled the Preliminary Group 1 exam held last October and its result, which declared this January, on suspicion that the question paper was leaked.
The Congress and BJP alleged that the main accused Praveen is a small fry and that persons known to the relatives of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao were also involved. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy alleged that a person working in IT Minister K T Rama Rao’s office was associated with one of the accused. The SIT summoned him to give a statement and produce proof but Reddy only produced newspaper clippings. The SIT also summoned BJP Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar who alleged that persons close to the CM’s relatives were involved in the scam but Sanjay is yet to appear before but he is yet to appear.
Police allege that three persons who circulated photos of the SSC Hindi exam question paper held on Tuesday were associated with the BJP. On Tuesday morning, half an hour after the Hindi exam began, photos of the question started circulating on social media.
It began with a minor boy sending a photo of the question paper to his friend, who then sent the picture to a WhatsApp group, the police said. An employee of the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) forwarded the photo to a former journalist P Prashanth, who then sent it to a journalists group. Prashanth also forwarded photos of the question paper to Bandi Sanjay. Police allege that the three persons involved in circulating the photos of the question paper are associated with the BJP, and are acquainted with Bandi Sanjay. Sanjay has been arrested on the allegation that he orchestrated the “leak’” to embarrass the ruling BRS Government.
