Karnataka: Absconding PSI exam topper held after 5 months

KALABURAGI: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has finally caught Rachana Hanumanth, the PSI candidate ranked first in the state in the women's category, against whom an FIR is registered in Bengaluru.
She was caught on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border near the Hiroli checkpost on Friday night.
Rachana, a resident of Vijayapura, is accused of performing irregularities in the exam and bagging first rank. She was absconding since the issue became serious and an FIR was filed against her after she missed the inquiry. CID had been chasing her for five months.
The CID had enquired with a car driver, who identified her and told the team he had dropped her in Solapur 10 days ago. On Friday, the investigators were informed that she was spotted at the place where she had been dropped earlier and was in a car with a Karnataka registration number and headed towards the state.
She was nabbed at the border checkpost.
CID sources said Rachana did not use a mobile phone all these days and would shift location every alternate day. She also had a boy cut and wore jeans and T-shirt.
The CID had searched for her at her relatives' and mother's place. Her mother is a teacher at a private school in Chitaguppa of Bidar district.
She didn't visit relatives
The sleuths kept an eye on her kin, but Rachana never visited any of them. The CID kept an eye on her colleagues in Kudgi thermal power plant near Vijayapura.
Many of her relatives, including her mother, had absconded after questioning by the CID.
Rachana was kept at the state women's hostel for one day before being produced in court and handed over to the Bengaluru CID team.