Prof turns exam into family affair

Four members of a family in Mysore qualified for the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS). Three of them even bagged the first, second an...

Four members of a family in Mysore qualified for the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS). Three of them even bagged the first, second and fourth ranks. Nothing to celebrate because helping them all the way were a K.S. Shivanna, a Mysore University professor, who awarded high marks to ensure the first few ranks went to them, and then secretary of Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), who disclosed the code numbers of the answer scripts to the professor.

After sitting on complaints, the Karnataka government has now promised action against Shivanna. ‘‘We will use the Karnataka State Universities Act to ask Mysore University to act as there is prima facie evidence available against the professor,’’ Higher Education Minister G. Parameshwar said.

Earlier, the high court, which received a petition from some KAS candidates, ordered a fresh selection after studying the report of a three-member probe committee.

Story continues below this ad

The ‘‘topper’’, K. Rameswarappa, was already in government service as the deputy director of the state Food and Civil Supplies department. He opted for the KAS exam for a better career. The three others joining him in the fraud were brother-in-law B.S. Nagaraj (second rank) and sisters-in-law B.S. Triveni (fourth) and B.S. Hemalatha.

According to the report, Rameswarappa and Triveni were selected for the post of assistant commissioner, Nagaraj for the post of assistant commissioner of commercial taxes while Hemalatha was shortlisted for a tehsildar’s post.

The four candidates chose the same optional papers and answered the same questions, the report said. Their answers were almost identical.

Shivanna, the chief examiner, increased the marks in the guise of random checking during the second evaluation. For some questions, he gave more marks than prescribed by the KPSC. Nagaraj and Triveni wrote papers in English but Shivanna evaluated them even though he was chief examiner for the Kannada medium, the report said. Help came from then KPSC secretary A.K. Monnappa, who is now the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.

Story continues below this ad

Though its own probe committee recommended criminal action against Shivanna, Monnappa and the ‘‘toppers’’, the KPSC did not take action. Things were left to the high court, which held the selection of 415 candidates illegal. The court also ordered fresh moderation in 18 optional subjects and general studies papers. It was only then that the state government woke up.

In Odisha, Modi mounts ‘loot tantra-vs-bachat utsav’ attack on Congress over GST

India2 hr ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structures, saying the era of “double bachat (saving) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule. Addressing the ' Namo Yuva Samabesh' in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “loot tantra (tactics)” while in power.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS