Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay arrested in SSC question paper leak case

The Telangana police on Wednesday night arrested Bharatiya Janata Party's State President Bandi Sanjay Kumar in connection with a Class X examination question paper leak.

The SSC (Secondary School Certificate) question paper for Hindi examination had allegedly leaked on Tuesday, 4 April, just minutes after the examination commenced. SSC question paper for the Telugu examination had also allegedly leaked on April 3.

An invigilator at an examination centre in Vikarabad who was an accused in the case was found to have links with Sanjay Kumar.

The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party had accused the BJP president of being linked to the leak before Telangana Police detained him at Karimnagar.

Photos of Kumar being taken in custody were also circulating on social media when the arrest took place. After he was detained at midnight, Kumar was later taken to an undisclosed location by the police. His arrest was not recorded till Wednesday.

Around 5 lakh candidates appear for the SSC examination in Telangana each year.

Last month, a special investigation team (SIT) was set up to probe into the allegations that the question paper of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) held on February 27 had been leaked.

The team found that two employees working in the TSPSC main office had downloaded the question paper from an office computer and sold it for Rs 10 lakh.

On two consecutive days this week, photos of the SSC exam question papers started circulating online, within minutes of the start of the exams.

Earlier, the SIT had summoned Kumar to appear before it on March 24 and have his statement recorded and furnish proof regarding his allegations. The BJP chief had hit back at the time saying that instead of summoning him to produce proof, the SIT should investigate the matter and find the truth.

After the alleged leak of the SSC Telugu question paper, Kumar demanded the resignation of state Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy. “After the TSPSC fiasco, now the Telangana government has miserably failed to conduct even Class X examinations in a fool-proof manner without any scope for leakage of question papers. It is shameful on the part of the KCR government to continue, despite the fact that it cannot conduct even Class X examinations properly,” he said.

According to Kumar, the state government was deliberately leaking question papers as it wanted to benefit some corporate and private schools. “It has miserably failed to control the use of technology in question paper leaks,” he said.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief A Revanth Reddy has also claimed that people close to BRS leaders are involved in the TSPSC question paper leaks. Reddy alleged that a person working in the office of the Chief Minister’s son, IT Minister K T Rama Rao, was associated with one of the accused.

The SIT summoned Reddy for a statement and to produce proof, but Reddy only submitted newspaper clippings.

On Tuesday, the CPI and CPI(M) also demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge into the TSPSC paper leak. CPI state secretary K Sambasiva Rao accused the SIT of working in favour of the state government. CPI(M) state secretary T Veerabhadram also said a probe by a sitting HC judge was necessary.

With the allegations against its leader K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor scam, the BRS government has come under pressure over the question paper leaks in the state. It has also given the opposition Congress and the BJP an opportunity to target BRS and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his family. Even the Left, which has announced its support to the BRS against the BJP, has joined calls for a probe.

While the BRS accused Sanjay Kumar of “orchestrating” the SSC question paper leak, the BJP has accused the BRS government of carrying out a politically motivated arrest.

Kumar who has often been at the forefront of attacks on the BRS government had recently asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to publish his Post Graduation certificate. The jibe was part of a long line of mudslinging between the BRS and the BJP, over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification.