20% government staff, 15% cops recruited after 2004 took fraudsters’ help

BENGALURU: The accused in the constable recruitment exam question paper leak case have confessed that they have been indulging in such activities since 2004, Central Crime Branch (CCB) said.
“We suspect that at least 20% of government employees and 15% constables and sub-inspectors recruited after 2004 were beneficiaries of the scamsters Shivakumaraiah alias Guruji and others,” an officer said.
On Monday, the CCB arrested Anil Francis, a former security guard with Manipal Printing Press on charges of stealing question papers from the store room and selling them to scamsters.
This is the third time Shivakumaraiah is being arrested. He was nabbed first time in 2010 along with Rajagopala Reddy and CT Basavaraj on charges of offering question papers to Comed-K aspirants for money.
Sources said Rajagopala Reddy was the brain behind the question paper leak and mentored Shivakumaraiah and others in the profession. In 2017, CID had arrested Shivakumaraiah for his alleged role in leaking second PU science question papers.
“After his arrest in 2010, Reddy bid goodbye to the business. However, Shivakumaraiah and Basavaraj continued with the business jointly with others like Ameer Ahmed, ” CCB said.
Shivakumaraiah told police that they started by selling SSLC question papers. “That gave us confidence and we succeeded in leaking second PU science papers. From 2007, we focussed on question papers of competitive exams as well as job recruitment exams,” he said.
According to Shivakumaraiah, they would eye three places for leaking any question paper. “The printing press was the first target. Staff of the exam organisers like PU board were the next. Staff of district treasuries where question papers are kept were the third option,” officials said.
Ameer Ahmed contested 2013 polls
Among the fraudsters, Ameer Ahmed was the most ambitious. Aspiring to become an MLA, Ameer Ahmed had contested the 2013 assembly elections from Channagiri in Davanagere. “He was given ticket from BSR Congress of Sriramulu, who is currently in BJP. Ameer Ahmed spent around Rs 75 lakh, but lost,” sources said.
Took money to treat mother: Francis
CCB sources said prime accused Anil Francis, who had shifted to Bahrain after selling the question paper for the constable exam and was arrested on his return to Bengaluru on Monday, told police that he resorted to the crime so that he could get his mother, a cancer patient, treated at a superspecialty hospital. “She lives in a village near Sagar in Shivamogga district and is undergoing treatment. But, Francis could not establish the claim as there no records like bank statement or hospital bills to prove that he had spent the money for her treatment,” sources added.
Guruji’s hi-tech ways
With more cash flowing in, Shivakumaraiah (Guruji) turned hi-tech after 2013 and explored advanced technologies to excel in his business, sources said.
“As his operations extended all over Karnataka, particularly in northern districts, Shivakumaraiah purchased a brand-new multi-utility vehicle. It was fitted with a portable generator run by petrol and photocopier machine. He also hired a driver and would travel all over the state, meet candidates on the outskirts of towns or villages and sell photocopies of question papers. In 2017, Basavaraj and Shivakumaraiah purchased a cash-counting machine too,” sources said.
The accused’s only drawback was his inability to use smartphones and apps like WhatsApp and Instagram.