Telangana BJP chief and MP Bandi Sanjay, arrested earlier today in a paper leak case, has been sent to judicial custody along with three other accused till April 19. Speaking on Sanjay's arrest, his counsel Karuna Sagar said, "We will be filing a contempt proceeding against the investigative officer for violating the Supreme Court guidelines. We are planning to challenge the order in HC tomorrow."
He was arrested by police in the early hours of Wednesday after he was named the prime accused by the city police in a case of malpractice after a question paper of Standard 10 (SSC) board exam surfaced on groups of an instant messaging app.
Sanjay Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP from Karimnagar constituency, was picked up by a team of police from his residence in Karimnagar city and was initially put under preventive arrest, triggering protests by his party workers.
He was subsequently arrested and then produced in a local court in the evening in Warangal, which remanded him to judicial custody till April 19 along with three others.
The paper of Standard 10 (SSC) board exam in Telangana found its way into an instant messaging platform for the second day on Tuesday after a 16-year old boy took a photo of the paper from a student who appeared for the exam in Hanumakonda district and shared it with that student's brother while the exam was going on, police said.
The paper was then posted in a group of the instant messaging app and subsequently shared in other groups by one of the accused, who had also sent a copy to Sanjay Kumar, police added.
“There was WhatsApp conversation between Sanjay and the second accused (a former journalist of a TV channel). There were also WhatsApp calls between them. When we asked Sanjay, he said his phone is not with him. If we examine his phone, some more information will come out,” Warangal Police Commissioner A V Ranganath sai.
“We feel that they wanted to create a sense of insecurity among students. There is no political motive in filing cases. This (the leakage of papers) was done under the direction of Bandi Sanjay,” he added.
The SSC exams in the state began on Monday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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