BENGALURU: Lack of effective and timely investigation into such crimes and an abnormally slow judicial process act as incentives to criminals who indulge in such high return crimes.
If the investigation into the leak of the 2012 March/ April examination question papers had been completed quickly and the culprits had been punished by way of prompt prosecution, then perhaps it would have acted as a deterrent.
In 2012, the Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics question papers had been leaked by an official of the Kadur sub-treasury. The CID, to which the investigation had been entrusted, submitted its report on January 10, 2014. Nothing is heard about it there afterwards.
All the five accused are leading happy lives as the prosecution has not been launched or it is launched but forgotten. None of them has been punished so far and they are bound to go scot-free for want of irrefutable evidence.
The Chemistry question paper leaked on Tuesday was also leaked from the same treasury, ie., the Kadur sub-treasury.
The Education Department which is specialised in academic and examination spheres cannot be held responsible for the security of the question papers when it is deposited in the treasury. At that stage, the officers of the treasury and the police personnel who guard the treasury are to be blamed for any leak. In short, the repeated incidence of question paper leak is a reflection upon the incompetence of the government and its lack of will to make the system secure.
(B A Harish Gowda is a retired IAS officer and former Director of the PUE Department)