ANDAMAN CBSE PAPER LEAK CASE: FOUR GET LIFE IMPRISONMENT

Courtesy:Sanjib Kumar Roy via Facebook site Andaman Sheekha

Port Blair, Nov 16: IN a historic judgement in the sensational CBSE question paper leak case, the Court of Special Judge of Port Blair has sentenced four accused persons to imprisonment for life on Wednesday (16 November). The prime accused P. Krishnama Raju, Abdul Rasheed, M.J. Vijayan and Abdul Salam were found guilty under various sections of law, while accused M.P. Arun was acquitted by the hon’ble court on Tuesday. The verdict came after the conclusion of a nearly four- month-long speedy trial conducted on a day-to-day basis on the orders of the Hon’ble High Court.


The Ld. Special Judge (District & Sessions Judge), Mr. Debi Prasad Dey, delivered the 311-page verdict in special case no. 04 of 2011 (the State-vs-P. Krishnamaraju & 04 others) in a packed court room on Tuesday, and pronounced the punishment on Wednesday. 


Accused P. Krishnama Raju was found guilty under section 409/120B of Indian Penal Code and under sections 13 (2) & 13 (1) (c) (d) (i) (ii) (iii) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Accused Abdul Salam was found guilty under section 120B/409 of Indian Penal Code while both accused Abdul Rasheed and M.J. Vijayan were found guilty under section 120B/409 of IPC and 8 (2)/7 of PAT Regulation (Amendment), 1956. 


P. Krishnama Raju was sentenced for life along with a fine of Rs. 10,000/- and additional one year and fine of Rs. 5,000/- for offence under POC Act, 1988. Abdul Rasheed and M.J. Vijayan each were sentenced to life term and pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- & additional six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 500/- for offence under PAT Regulation. Abdul Salam was sentenced to imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-. All the sentences shall run concurrently. 


The above persons had hatched a criminal conspiracy to get the CBSE class XII question papers leaked for the benefit of their children. Accordingly, two of them, Rasheed and Vijayan had traveled to Car Nicobar on MV Kalighat on 14 February 2011 without any ticket or permit and met GSSS, Lapathy principal P. Krishnamaraju, with whom they were already in touch, at his residence. 
On 16 February, after the question papers reached in two gunny bags from Port Blair and were delivered to the principal, they carried it to the school and cut those open, took out the papers and Xeroxed in the school and resealed the packets.
Rasheed and Vijayan paid money to the principal and made further copies of the question papers in a private Xerox shop in Car Nicobar headquarters area the next day and left for Port Blair. They then delivered the papers to Abdul Salam.


The matter came to light on 03 March when a local daily reported that Physics examination paper which was held on 1st march was leaked from southern groups by some influential persons. The Administration immediately launched a probe and the offence was confirmed. A case was registered in Police Station Car Nicobar and investigated by SHO Insp. Manjeet Singh and principal Krishnamaraju was arrested. A special investigation team apprehended accused Rasheed, Vijayan, Salam and Arun from Port Blair. After addition of Prevention of Corruption Act, the case was transferred to the ASP Chinmoy Biswal, IPS for further investigation, who submitted the charge sheet within the mandatory period.


This CBSE question paper leak case had raised serious concerns about sanctity of the examination and education system in the Islands, more so due to involvement of influential people. The future of thousands of innocent students and parents lay jeopardized for the personal gain of a few unscrupulous persons. Immediate action by Police and Administration succeeded in bringing the culprits to book and set an example in deterring such elements from carrying out criminal designs. The general public of the Islands were eagerly awaiting the outcome of this case. The Prosecution will recommend if an appeal lies against the acquittal of M.P. Arun.