On the first day of class ten examinations in Tandur of Vikarabad district, a Telugu question paper was leaked on WhatsApp. The incident occurred despite the intensified probe by the SIT into the leakage of question papers of various group examinations. The photos of the question paper went viral on WhatsApp shortly after the examination began in the Tandur town. The science teacher at the school, Bandeppa, shared the tenth class paper in a media group via WhatsApp at 9.37 am. All the students were already in the exam hall by then. Those in the group saw the message at 11 O’clock. This incident sparked off rumours of postponement of Tuesday’s exam. However, the School Education Department clarified that Tuesday’s class 10 examinations have not been postponed, and all the exams will be conducted as per schedule from Tuesday till April 13.
The District Collector Narayan Reddy suspended four persons, Shivakumar, Gopal, Bandeppa, and Sammappa. A criminal case has been registered against Bandeppa and Sammappa, and Shivakumar has been removed from being an invigilator. On a complaint by the District Education Officer, the police arrested the invigilator, a science teacher, and booked a case. Tandur CI Rajendra Reddy is investigating the case. It is alleged that Bandeppa took Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 from students to favour them. This incident has left the students and parents wondering how the invigilator was allowed to carry his mobile phone inside the examination hall while the board had announced that no cell phones even by invigilators would be allowed to be taken into the examination halls. Venkata Sainath, joint secretary, Hyderabad Schools Parents’ Association, demanded that strong action should be taken against the accused.
