Mysore/Mysuru: A day after a case was registered at Mandi Police Station following the busting of University of Mysore’s (UoM) fake answer sheet racket, the CCB (City Crime Branch) ACP C.K. Ashwathnarayan has taken over conduct of investigation.

Mandi Police Inspector Narayanaswamy, who has now been suspended and a few staff of Mandi Police Station, have been booked in the case along with other culprits.

A CCB team, comprising Inspectors R. Jagadish and H.R. Vivekananda and other staff, has been formed to conduct the investigation, which will be undertaken as per details of the complaint lodged by complainant Somasundar, Joint Secretary of Karnataka Rashtra Samiti Paksha. Somasundar, in his complaint to the City Police Commissioner, had alleged that some culprits were engaged in preparing fake answer scripts of B.Sc Chemistry question paper (2020-21) of Mysore University at a lodge on B.N. Road  on April 21, after the exams were conducted by UoM on Apr.15 and 17. The complaint said that the culprits used to replace the prepared answer scripts with the original ones, in order to help the students get high marks. 

Though Mandi Police Inspector Narayanaswamy had a tip off about the racket and raided the Lodge, the Inspector was charged with letting off the culprits who were caught red-handed during the raid, by merely recording their statements and not filing a case against them, despite having allegedly seized the fake answer scripts.

Following Somasundar’s complaint, City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta suspended Mandi Inspector Narayanaswamy.

The CCB will probe into every aspect of the case, such as how the blank answer sheets of  B.Sc Chemistry exam of UoM came out into the open  and who are all responsible for it, who took the responsibility for returning the blank answer sheets of absent students etc. 

The CCB team will also probe whether the answer scripts  found during the Police raid were fake or genuine and why the then Mandi Inspector let off the culprits without registering a case.

Sources in the CCB said that the team is right now gathering evidence in connection with Somasundar’s complaint and the charges against those booked in the case including Mandi Inspector, a few  staff and a couple of contract employees of UoM. All those found involved along with proof will be arrested and produced before a Magistrate, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the suspended Mandi Police Inspector Narayanaswamy, who was staying at a lodge near Banumaiah Chowk in the city since the past two years, is said to have hurriedly vacated the Lodge  soon after  his suspension order was issued by the City Police Commissioner.

Amidst all this, the University of Mysore probe team headed by the Registrar (Evaluation), too has intensified its probe into the fake answer script racket case. The team is said to have questioned the custodian, room supervisor and other University staff who were put  incharge of the exam on the dates which B.Sc Chemistry exam was held.