BENGALURU: The North Division Cyber Police have arrested six school teachers from different districts, for allegedly leaking SSLC preparatory examination question papers. More than ten students have also been questioned in connection with the case. The presence of unique codes on SSLC preparatory examination question papers helped the police crack the case swiftly.
A senior police officer said school headmasters are authorised to download question papers from the website of the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board on the day of the examination by entering an OTP sent to their registered mobile numbers. The six teachers misused this facility, leading to the leak.
Two of the arrested headmasters allegedly downloaded the question papers around 6.30 am on the day of the examination. They are said to have taken photographs of the papers on their mobile phones and forwarded them to their relatives’ children, instructing them to study the questions in advance.
The students who received the papers further shared them with friends, after which the question papers became available on social media. The remaining four teachers had also obtained the question papers illegally.
The arrested have been identified as VD Girish, headmaster of an aided high school in Tumakuru; Amjad Khan, a teacher at a Ramanagara school; Shaheeda Begum, headmistress of a private school in Kalaburagi; and teachers Mohammed Sirajuddin, Fahmeeda and Farzana Begum in Kalaburagi.
“During investigation, it was found that the leaked question papers carried visible alphanumeric codes. These codes indicated the specific schools from which the question papers had been downloaded. By tracing the codes, police identified the source points that had illegally accessed and circulated the papers,” an officer said.
Police later traced the students who had uploaded and circulated the question papers online. Investigation found that after receiving the papers, some students created multiple accounts on Instagram under names such as “Delta Hacker 32” and “Delta Hacker” and posted photographs of the papers. Separate channels were also created on Telegram. The investigation revealed that some students sold the leaked papers for prices varying between Rs 50 to 200. Ten students, including two who shared the papers on Instagram and Telegram, were identified, detained and questioned. Their statements have been recorded, the officer added.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the teachers did not leak the papers for financial gain, but to benefit their relatives’ children and students they were teaching. The mobile phones of the accused have been seized and further investigation is under way. The case had come to light after officials of the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board lodged a complaint on January 7, after learning that a question paper had been leaked and was circulating on an Instagram account. The SSLC Preparatory Examination for the academic year 2025–26 was conducted between January 5 and January 10.