It could well be a package deal that many may have struck for a question paper, followed by higher marks and a seat in a good professional college.
Interrogation of the five arrested persons by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for the II PU chemistry paper leakage has revealed that the well-knit gang had a larger network of officials across departments, Pre-University Board, Karnataka Examinations Authority and management representatives in professional colleges.
The network came to light as the five accused are being questioned separately, and that they effectively offered “package deals” to students. The kingpin of this larger scam is believed to be Shivakumar, a retired lecturer, who is on the run. “It’s a bigger racket than we thought. However, right now we are focusing on the question paper leakage and trying to build a strong case. The other aspects would be probed in the due course,” a senior CID official said. Following this revelation, the CID officials are now focussing their probe on a few private colleges and some tutorials across the State that are part of the “package deal”. Not ruling out the possibility of the arrest of a few officials in the PU Department, the CID officer said that the accused would not have flourished without official help. “Many of the 40 suspended officials are under the scanner and evidence about their involvement is being collected,” the officer said.
Earlier on Thursday, PE teachers Anil Kumar and Satish, who were arrested on Wednesday, were produced before the 1st ACMM and remanded in custody for nine days.
