CHANDIGARH: It was a web of lies and deceit that Balwinder Kumar Sharma and Sunita, main accused in the Haryana Civil Services (Judicial) examination paper leak case, weaved to conceal their intimate relationship, the charge-sheet filed by the special investigation team (SIT) of Chandigarh Police reveals.
Sharma, former registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, allegedly gave the paper to Sunita, who shared it with her friend Sushila.
Sharma and Sunita duped several people in their attempt to keep their phone communications secret. They topped talking on their own mobile numbers in February last year and thereafter, till August, the duo made 1,100 calls to each other using SIM cards procured in the name of others.
According to the 2,400-page charge-sheet filed in the trial court, Sunita, through her roommate Ayushi, a student, procured a SIM in the name of a former employee with a telecom company.
She gave the SIM to Sharma, who then used it to register with cab aggregators Uber and Ola with fake names. Between January and April 2017, he booked the cab twelve times to go from the high court to a temple in Sector 18 temple, near which Sunita stayed.
Sunita reportedly told the SIT that she procured her secret number in the name of Naresh Sharma, who sells flowers outside the temple and also runs a canteen. Naresh told the police that Sunita continuously pestered him for SIM claiming she didn’t have a Chandigarh address.
Sunita also got a SIM from autorickshaw driver Varinder Kumar registered on Jugnoo auto hiring app by luring him with the promise of getting a peon’s job in the high court. She often used his service for commuting and also got him to deliver tiffin and fruits to Sharma.
Sources said between December 2016 and June 2017, Sharma and Sunita went to Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra five times.
Exam farce
Chandigarh police registered a case and formed SIT at the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to inquire into the paper leak scam. The matter had reached court in August 2017 after one Suman of Pinjore filed a plea alleging she was told to pay `1.5 crore if she wanted to purchase the question paper for the exam that was conducted on July 16, 2017. The court recommended registration of a case against Balwinder Kumar Sharma, former HC registrar (recruitment), and two candidates, both prelims toppers — Sunita (general category) and Sushila (reserved category). The duo had not qualified for any competitive examination in the past.