In a first breakthrough, sleuths from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday arrested three men, including the personal assistant of Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash R. Patil, in connection with the March 21 pre-university chemistry question paper leak case.
The arrested, however, are only those who bought and later sold the paper for money to others. The primary source of the leak is yet to be ascertained. Those arrested are most likely the third link in one of the chains through which the leaked question paper was distributed far and wide.
Of the arrested, Manjunath (47), a physical education teacher at The New Cambridge PU College, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru, whose wife is said to be an employee in the Department of Pre University Education (DPUE), sold the question paper on March 20, a day before the exam to various people, including Obalaraju (51), personal assistant to the Minister and whose child was to attend the chemistry exam the next day.
The CID officials have now frozen Mr. Manjunath’s bank account containing Rs. 10 lakh. This is allegedly the proceeds of the sale of the question paper.
“We have zeroed in on a private person, who was the source of the question paper being sold to Manjunath. We will arrest him soon. The interrogation of this person at the beginning of this chain is likely to reveal the identity of the leak within the DPUE,” said Sonia Narang, DIG, CID.
She further added that in all probability, the primary source of leak suspected to be in DPUE had made quick money, selling the paper to multiple people — each of whom may have triggered further chains of proliferation. “What we have cracked is a significant part of one such proliferation chain, which will likely take us to the primary source,” she said.
Obalaraju bought paper for his child
The Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) probe has revealed that Obalaraju, personal assistant to Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash R. Patil, bought the chemistry question paper for his child who was to face the exam the next day.
Obalaraju is said to have further shared the paper with his relative Rudrappa (50), an office manager at the Public Works Department, whose child is also in II PU.
However, what made the duo culpable in the proliferation of the leaked question paper was that they did not stop with buying the paper, but made quick money on March 20 by further selling it to many others. This has now been established through mobile records and WhatsApp messages.
Investigations are on to ascertain the cost at which Obalaraju bought the question paper from Manjunath, and the monetary compensation received by Obalaraju and Rudrappa after selling the paper.
Obalaraju, originally an employee of the Directorate of Pension, Small Savings and Asset – Liability, Government of Karnataka, was deputed as personal assistant to Dr. Patil for the past three years, ever since he took charge as the Minister.
