Bandi Sanjay named accused in 10th class question paper scandal FIR

HYDERABAD: Removing the ambiguity on its arrest of Bandi Sanjay, the Telangana police on Wednesday named the BJP Telangana President in the FIR on the 10th Class question papers copying/circulation scandal.

Following his arrest for his alleged involvement in the sensational scandal, the BJP chief’s name was added to the accused list as A-1 in the case. Prashanth (28), believed to be a close follower of Bandi Sanjay, 18-year-old Siva Ganesh and a minor boy have been arrested by the Warangal police in connection with the case. The FIR stated the BJP leader was arrested at 1 am on Wednesday.

A copy of the FIR showed that the case was registered under Section 420 (cheating) of IPC, 4(A) and 6 of TS Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act. Incidentally, another FIR was also registered against the Telangana BJP chief in Karimnagar for his inflammatory comments on the arrest of his close aide Prashanth in the case.

The Warangal police, who have busted the scandal after the Telugu and Hindi question papers of 10th class were sent out and circulated in social media on two successive days, are probing the case, mainly from a conspiracy angle. They suspect that the conspiracy was engineered with the intention of defaming the BRS government in the state.

The FIR stated that Prashanth, who is suspected to have played the keyrole, had made close to 140 phone calls within a span of two hours since the time the question paper was clicked on a mobile phone and circulated in Whatsapp groups on Tuesday. The police claim that he was in constant touch with Bandi Sanjay after the question paper was sent out at around 11.15 am on Tuesday and also the previous night.

The Warangal police are now in the process of establishing the trail of his phone conversations based on the call log. They are also gleaning through the Whatsapp chats of Prashanth with Bandi Sanjay and others to get hold of conclusive evidence in the case. The police are likely to seek forensic support in establishing the technical evidence.

As being widely anticipated, the Warangal police are likely to seek Bandi Sanjay’s custody to unravel the truth in the scandal. The legal cell of the BJP, on the other hand, is expected to immediately move a petition to secure bail for the Karimnagar MP.