5 suspended, invigilator arrested after 10th class Telugu question paper ‘leaked’ in Tandur

VIKARABAD: The Telangana Government took serious note of the 10th class Telugu examination question paper episode in Tandur of Vikarabad district on Monday even as the Vikarabad collector announced the suspension of five persons in this connection. The suspended officials include teachers Bandappa and Sammappa who allegedly forwarded the paper to outsiders through their mobile phones. The others are Siva Kumar, Gopal and Sriniva. Bandappa, a science teacher, was also arrested by the police who registered a case and are going full steam with their investigation.

The Telangana Government, while expressing fury at allowing Bandappa, an invigilator, to carry his mobile phone inside the examination centre, has ordered Vikarabad District Collector Narayana Reddy to submit a detailed report on the incident.

The incident happened at the Tandur Government School as soon as the 10th class Telugu test question paper was distributed. While the examination commenced as scheduled at 9:30 am, the question paper was clicked on the mobile phone allegedly by Bandappa who then forwarded it to Sammappa. The screenshots were later shared on Whatsapp at 9:37 am. According to some reports, Bandappa shared the question paper screenshots in some active groups that are known to be affiliated to an opposition political party.

The speed at which the question paper was circulated and that too allegedly in active Whatsapp groups owing allegiance to a political party raised suspicions of a deep-rooted conspiracy, especially coming in the wake of the recent TSPSC question papers leakage scandal.

The police, who swung into action as soon as the information trickled out, took Bandappa into custody and began questioning him to elicit more details. Incidentally, Bandappa comes with some history of previous criminal record. A case was registered against him in the past under the stringent POCSO Act for allegedly molesting a girl student in a classroom. His wife is also said to be working in the same school as a teacher.

Based on a complaint from Vikarabad MEO, a case under relevant sections was registered for sharing the question paper with the outside world. The police however maintain that the question paper was not leaked anywhere. They were able to identify that the Telugu question paper was shared in Whatsapp groups at 9:37 am after the 10th class examination commenced at 9:30 am. The invigilator was charged with sharing the question paper with the outside world from the examination centre.

Later addressing the media, Vikarabad District Collector C Narayana Reddy said that among the suspended officials, Bandappa and Sammappa are the teachers and that the duo played a key role in sharing the question paper with the outside world. The collector felt that the accused had intentionally leaked the question paper as part of a meticulously planned conspiracy. After realising that the news of their scandal broke out, the two teachers deleted the images of the question papers from their mobile phones.

The incident sent shockwaves and evoked outrage from the parents of 10th class students, prompting the education department to jump into the scene and begin an investigation.