Asst prof exam scam: Soumya got paper in sealed cover from mentor

The Malleswaram police investigating the leakage of the geography question paper of the examination for assistant professor posts in government degree colleges have found that the entire question paper was given to accused Soumya R, 32, a guest lecturer, in a sealed cover.

A relative of Dr H Nagaraja, presently posted as registrar of the Karnatak University in Dharwad, is said to have given the sealed cover to Soumya, police sources said.

The professor has been arrested for leaking the question paper.

A relative of Nagaraja has been questioned in this regard and her statement recorded, a senior officer said.

The professor told police that he had kept the question paper set on the table in his house.

Soumya, who used to visit his house, had taken the set of question papers from his table without his knowledge, he said.

But the police were not ready to buy his version and after investigation, concluded that the question paper was indeed given to her by Nagaraja.

The professor wanted to help Soumya, who was his PhD student.

Soumya did not share the question paper with anyone. But during the last 30 minutes of the exam, she shared a few selected questions with one of her best friends, who was tensed to face the exam.

Her friend shared the questions with one of her male friends. It is said that the questions went viral on WhatsApp only after the exam got over.

Hence, candidates who appeared for the exam approached the KEA, which filed a complaint with the Malleswaram police.