The BJP MP accused the BRS of political vendetta by arresting him for questioning the ruling party.
The BJP MP accused the BRS of political vendetta by arresting him for questioning the ruling party.
The Telangana Police early on Wednesday, 5 April, arrested Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar after his name surfaced in connection with the Class X (SSC) Hindi question paper leak. He was arrested from his residence in Karimnagar.
On Tuesday, the police arrested Mautam Shiva Ganesh, a driver, Booram Prashanth, a former journalist and currently a BJP worker, and a 16-year-old boy.
They were booked under Section 5 of the Telangana Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractice and Unfair Means) Act.
One more accused, Mahesh, who works at Kakatiya Medical College, is yet to be arrested.
Explaining the rationale behind its action on the Telangana BJP chief under Section 151 of the CrPC, cops from the Karimnagar Town II Police Station said that after the leaking of the question papers, Bandi Sanjay — through press statements and social media — blamed the state government for it.
They added that he also provoked students to resort to various protest measures and acts that were likely to disturb public peace and tranquillity, creating law-and-order problems.
“I received information that the MP also motivated his followers and other BJP activists to sit on dharnas in front of examination centres, so as to disturb the conduct and continuation of further examinations. Such acts were likely to demoralise the students appearing for the SSC examinations, in which event there was every likelihood of students resorting to extreme measures,” said Karimnagar Town II Police Station Inspector T Lakshmi Babu in his complaint.
He added that the preventive arrest of Bandi Sanjay Kumar was deemed necessary to ensure the peaceful conduct of the ongoing SSC examinations, and to maintain the law-and-order situation.
According to the police, the question paper of Class X (SSC) board exam in Telangana found its way to a WhatsApp group after a student who appeared for the Hindi exam at a centre in Hanumakonda district gave it to a friend who had scaled a boundary wall to enter the exam centre.
The friend took a photo of the paper and shared it with the student’s brother on WhatsApp.
The friend, a minor, scaled the compound wall of the Zila Parishad High School (ZPHS) under Kamalapur police station limits. After taking a photograph of the question paper on his mobile phone, he sent it to Shiva Ganesh, who posted the question paper in a local WhatsApp group (SSC 2019-21).
Mahesh, the accused who is yet to be arrested, also saw the message and forwarded it to Booram Prashanth, who then forwarded it with the caption “Breaking News – SSC Question Paper Leaked”.
He in turn shared the paper in various groups and also sent it to Bandi Sanjay Kumar at 11:24 am.
SSC Exam started at 9.30 am , Accused deliberately posted in Whatsapp group at 9.49 am as a Breaking News that Paper is leaked , Accused also sent paper to Bandi Sanjay on Whatsapp ! pic.twitter.com/X6madW8x0x
— Krishank (@Krishank_BRS) April 4, 2023
After his arrest, Bandi Sanjay Kumar was taken to Bommala Ramaram police station in Nalgonda district.
“As Education Department officials complained to the police, the investigation carried out by the Cyber department and the local police identified the accused,” Warangal Commissioner AV Ranganath said.
As the document was shared in a WhatsApp group at 9.59 am, there was no way it would reach candidates who were in the examination halls with no access to WhatsApp, Ranganath said.
“It appears that Prashanth intentionally created and shared some messages to cause panic by stating that the question paper was leaked,” said Ranganath.
“But it was not at all a leak since it happened after 9.30 am,” the commissioner said.
The BJP MP, who has posted videos of his arrest on his Twitter handle, accused the BRS of political vendetta by arresting him for questioning the ruling party.
“Fear is real in BRS.! First they stop me from conducting press meet & now arrest me late in night. My only mistake is to Question BRS govt on its wrong doings. Do not stop questioning BRS even if I am jailed. Jai Sri Ram ! Bharat Mata ki Jai ! Jai Telangana !”
In the videos, a team of officers is seen at the BJP MP’s residence in Karimnagar, before dragging Sanjay into the police van amidst protests from supporters and party workers.
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@bandisanjay_bjp) April 4, 2023
Holding the KCR government responsible for the leakage of question papers of Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) and the Class 10 examinations, Sanjay had earlier called for the resignations of KCR and his son KT Rama Rao.
BJP state general secretary Premender Reddy, in a statement, said the arrest was an “illegal” operation meant to disrupt the prime minister’s scheduled visit to Telangana on Saturday, 8 April, to flag off the Vande Bharat Express train from Secunderabad to Tirupati.
Two government employees — a chief superintendent and a departmental officer — have been suspended so far. The invigilator concerned was also removed from service.
Four government staff were suspended on Monday in the Vikarabad district of Telangana after a stand-by invigilator at a government school allegedly took a photo of a question paper of the Class X board exam and shared it with another teacher on an instant messaging app while the test was going on.
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