Bandi Sanjay Kumar has been named as the first accused in the Class X Hindi examination question paper leak case.
Sanjay Kumar had filed a bail application which the court accepted Thursday night after hearing the arguments and counter-arguments. (Supplied)
Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was released from jail on Friday, 7 April.
The Karimnagar MP has been in judicial custody since Wednesday, 5 April, in connection with the SSC question paper leak.
Bandi Sanjay was released after a Hanumakonda court granted him bail on Thursday, 6 April. He has been arraigned as the first accused in the Class X Hindi exam question paper leak.
The Warangal Police arrested him on Wednesday under sections 120-B (conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), and 505 (public mischief), of the IPC, along with provisions of the Telangana State Public Examination (Prevention of Malpractices) Act and IT Act.
A minor boy’s name was also included in the FIR.
Immediately after Sanjay was released from prison, Union Minister for Home Amit Shah called him and inquired about the circumstances that led to his arrest.
He is understood to have told Sanjay to step up the fight against the BRS as the BJP was keen on taking Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao and his family’s rule head-on.
Other leaders who called the state BJP president include party chief JP Nadda, Union minister Smriti Irani, and Telangana in-charges Tarun Chugh and Sunil Bansal.
Soon after his release, the BJP MP demanded a probe by a sitting high court judge into the question paper leak. The leaked question paper was circulated on WhatsApp.
Bandi Sanjay accused the Telangana government of attempting to divert attention from the TSPSC question paper leak case.
Besides seeking a probe by a sitting high court judge into the TSPSC question paper leak, he also demanded the dismissal of the IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao from the Cabinet, and ₹1 lakh compensation for those affected by the TSPSC exam paper leak.
“The state government should announce an ex gratia of ₹1 lakh each to students who suffered due to question paper leak. These three demands should be met,” he said, while speaking to reporters.
He alleged that 30 lakh candidates suffered due to the TSPSC question paper leak and hence KT Rama Rao should be dropped from the Cabinet.
“Your (KCR) family is liquor and leaker family,” he alleged.
Bandi Sanjay dared the Warangal Police Commissioner AV Ranganath to swear on his cap which has the Indian emblem (three lions) that he had said the truth.
He claimed that the police commissioner did not know the difference between a paper leak and malpractice.
The BJP leader sought to know his link with the case when somebody forwarded the leaked question paper to his mobile phone. He found fault with the police for not issuing a notice before his arrest.
He said his party would intensify the agitation over the TSPSC paper leak issue.
The MP and three others arrested in the case were on April 5 remanded in judicial custody till 19 April by a court in Hanamkonda and they were lodged in a jail in Karimnagar.
The minor, who had allegedly clicked photos of the paper from the exam centre in Hanamkonda after being told to do so by the two accused, was also apprehended.
Bandi Sanjay filed a bail application, which the court allowed after hearing arguments and counter-arguments on Thursday night.
The principal judicial magistrate court granted bail to Bandi Sanjay on furnishing a personal bond of ₹20,000 and two sureties of an equal amount.
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