The branch manager of Union Bank of India, Una district, and the head cashier in police custody. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)
A team of five personnel, led by a sub-inspector, got the first lead in the CBSE paper leak on April 5 when they reached a woman in Haryana’s Panchkula. Police said the woman was the sister-in-law of the teacher arrested from Himachal Pradesh — who was the source of both the maths and economics paper leaks.
When the team — comprising SI Dinesh Kumar, head constable Sashi, and constables Devendra, Nitin and Kritika — reached the place, they found that the woman lives in Punjab’s Ferozepur and that she travels to Panchkula to visit her son.
The team then summoned the woman. “When we questioned her, she tried to mislead us and said she got the message from an unknown number. She later broke down and told us that Rakesh Kumar Sharma, her relative who is a teacher in Himachal Pradesh, sent her the photos,” SI Dinesh told The Indian Express.
“We rushed to Una, where we arrested Rakesh. During questioning, Rakesh said he managed to access the Class XII paper from the bank as he was the centre superintendent,” SI Kumar added.
According to police, they first traced the chain of WhatsApp messages to the mobile number of a teacher at a private school in Delhi. His name was mentioned in the FIR lodged on March 27, police said. “We started checking everyone who sent the messages. Among those questioned were teachers, students and tutors of coaching centres,” DCP G Ramgopal Naik said.
According to JCP (crime) Alok Kumar, while SI Dinesh and his team nabbed Rakesh in Una, another team led by Naik was also sent to the district. “This team, comprising 12 officers, including ACP Rajesh Kumar and Inspector Sushil, conducted raids to nab Amit Sharma, a clerk, and Ashok, a peon,” the JCP said.
During questioning, police said Rakesh confessed to leaking the Class X paper as well.