Cops talk to whistleblower, CBSE leak probe widens
53 students, seven teachers questioned, three held in J’khand
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Saturday said they have received from Google the details of a whistle-blower, who had mailed the CBSE chairperson about a possible paper leak and attached a copy of the question paper in his mail.
Investigators said the statement of the whistle-blower has led them to discover another WhatsApp group, seventh in the row, widening the probe further. The special investigating team (SIT) had already been looking into six WhatsApp groups that figured in the trail of transmission of papers.
Special commissioner of police (crime) RP Upadhayay confirmed that Google, in its reply, shared with the special investigation team (SIT) the mobile number of the whistle-blower that he used for sending the email.
The SIT then met the whistleblower at his west Delhi home and made enquiries in the afternoon.
“Our team met him. He said that his son, who studies in Class 10, had received the question paper on WhatsApp. We have taken details of the number from which his son had received the papers. We have recorded his statement and are verifying his statement,” Upadhayay.
“On an average, each group has around 50 members and at least ten of them had received the forwarded leaked papers. A few of them had even forwarded it to their friends while some received the papers twice or thrice in interval,” said a police officer associated with the probe.
On Friday, HT was the first to trace and interview the whistle-lower — a man, who works at an upscale Delhi club and his 16-year-old son. The man told HT on Friday that his son had sent the email to the CBSE chairperson at 1.39am, hours before the Mathematics examination paper was held across India.
It is on the basis of the teenager’s complaint — and a 12-page copy of the question paper — that police registered the case.
HT spoke to the teenager’s father who confirmed police contacted him. He refused to comment on what transpired between him and the police officers.
SIT officials, however, said they were yet to identify the people responsible for the leaks. The SIT has questioned 53 students and seven teachers in the past four days.
A police officer, who is part of the investigations, said the probe has now widened beyond DelhiNCR and teams are likely to be sent to other states, including to Jharkhand, where a student had received the Class 10 Mathematics question paper over WhatsApp a day before the exams. Three men were then arrested by the Jharkhand police who reportedly told them that they had recieved the paper from people based in Patna, Bihar.
“We are constantly in touch with the Jharkhand Police to expose the racketeers in Patna. If required, teams will be sent to Jharkhand and Patna to get some leads in our case as well,” the officer said.
Upadhayay said that keeping in view the extensive investigation, two more assistant commissioner of police (ACPs) have been added to the SIT, which has now two deputy commissioners of police and six ACPs.
Joint commissioner of police (crime), Alok Kumar, who is supervising the SIT, said the questionings were leading them from one person to another, with the chain running into thousands. “Every person we have questioned so far has confessed to having received the leaked papers through WhatsApp but claims that it was forwarded by someone else. When we grill the other person he gives us the same reply. We have not yet traced the exact source of the papers leak,” said Kumar.