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Journalism of Courage
With the CBSE Pre-Medical Test fiasco fresh on its mind, the Crime Branch here is pushing ahead with its investigations into the leak of question papers of the July 2003 Common Entrance Test (CET) for medical, engineering and allied courses conducted in the state.
It has prepared a special team to execute arrests in the case, where question papers were leaked and children of several top officers allegedly benefited.
An FIR has been registered and a police officer of the rank of DSP has been appointed to investigate the matter. ‘‘The Crime Branch has acquired all the documents pertaining to the case from Vigilance and we are on the case,’’ SSP (Crime) Hira Lal Fotedar said.
During its preliminary investigations, the Vigilance found that some wards of bureaucrats, who are currently pursuing degrees in medicine, had bought the papers for Rs 5 lakh each, days before they wrote the test on July 14, 2003.
The Vigilance believes that papers printed at Vishal Printing Press in Naraina Vihar, New Delhi, were stolen by two staffers, Ramesh of Sonipat and Vikas Dhavan of Ludiana. Dhavan’s son Rohit, the Vigilance report says, got in touch with a Kupwara-based chicken dealer, Manzoor Ahmad Pir, through Sanjay Sharma, whose wife was studying B.Ed. in Sopore in Baramulla district.
Sharma and his wife used the office of Manzoor, who often travelled to Ludhiana on business. Manzoor is said to have in turn contacted Hamidullah Dar, a lecturer, and Md Shafi, a lawyer, and they decided to sell the papers for a hefty amount. Later, Salim Ahmad of Sonawar was also allegedly roped in.
The gang is believed to have sold the first batch of papers to about a dozen aspirants through Abdul Rashid, a teacher, on July 12. The following day, they allegedly struck a deal with Bashir Ahmad Wani of Pampore, whose two daughters passed the test with flying colours.
