Telangana question paper leak: BJP chief Bandi Sanjay granted bail

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar has been granted bail in the Class 10 SSC paper leak case after a high-drama arrest. A court in Hanamkonda district granted bail to him on Wednesday, April 6, on the condition that he furnish a Rs 20,000 bond and two sureties. He has also been directed to cooperate with the investigation and not tamper with evidence. The Karimnagar MP was arrested late on the night of Tuesday, April 5, amid protests from his supporters.

The police have accused Sanjay of conspiring with a former journalist, Burra Prashanth, to “defame the government.” They claimed that Prashanth works for a frontal organisation of the BJP, and added that he and Sanjay allegedly accessed the question paper and leaked it on April 4 to create panic among the people. According to the police remand report, Sanjay allegedly gained access to the paper and shared it with Prashanth, who then sent it to multiple WhatsApp groups. Sanjay would then use this to accuse the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of negligence and malpractice.

“As a part of the conspiracy, A-2 (Prashanth) talked with A-1 (Bandi Sanjay) several times regarding the criminal plan of copying the question papers from the examination hall through cell phones and put it in the social groups to defame the Government(sic),” police said in its report. The accused have been arrested under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), 505(1 )(b) (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, along with various sections of Telangana State Public Examination (Prevention of Malpractices) Act, 1997, and Section 66-D of the IT Act, 2008.