KALABURAGI: Exactly a fortnight after the first division assistant entrance exam scam occurred in Kalaburagi and Yadgir, and some other districts in different parts of the state, the state government has decided to handover the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Highly placed sources said Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) R Hitendra wrote to the police commissioner of Kalaburagi, SPs of Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts on Saturday, asking them to hand over the FDA exam scam files to the CID with immediate effect.
Kalaburagi Police Commissioner Chetan R, Kalaburagi SP Adduru Srinivasalu and Yadgir SP Sangeeta confirmed that they had received the letter. The CID, however, is yet to announce the name of the SP who is going to supervise the investigation.
The investigation officers (IOs), who are usually officers of the DySP rank working in CID, have not been named. Sources said the CID may appoint three investigation officers -- one each for examination centres at Kalaburagi City, Kalaburagi District and Yadgir District.
As for the scam, candidates would cheat in the FDA entrance test by using Bluetooth devices and getting answers dictated from outside the examination centres. The malpractice took place at Sharanabasaveshwara Arts College Centre and at Gulbarga University both within the limits of Kalaburagi Police Commissionerate. The malpractice also occurred at Mahanteshwara Vidyavardhak Sangha Exam Center in Afzalpur of Kalaburagi district and at 5 colleges in Yadgir district.
In all, 27 people including the candidates who used the Bluetooth devices for writing the exams and the persons who helped them write the exams from outside were arrested within three days of the crime. Later, another four persons who helped the accused RD Patil escape were netted. RD Patil was arrested by the special team constituted by the Kalaburagi police commissioner on Friday (November 10).
In all the FIRs filed at Ashok Nagar Police Station and University Police Station in Kalaburagi City and Afzalpur and Yadgir police stations, RD Patil’s name figures. In the 2022 PSI CET scam too, RD Patil is one of the accused. He hails from Sonna village of Afzalpur taluk and was the Block Congress president earlier. After he was released on bail, he contested the recently held Assembly elections as Samajwadi Party candidate and was defeated.