Karnataka Chemistry paper leak: Alleged kingpin held

Bengaluru: The alleged kingpin in the Class XII chemistry question paper leak case has been arrested, Criminal Investigation Department officials said on Tuesday.

Shivakumariah was nabbed from a hideout near Hosur road on the outskirts of the city last night, the officials said.

CID was on the lookout for him.

The exam that first took place on March 21 was cancelled after it was revealed that the question paper was leaked.

On March 31, hours before the rescheduled Chemistry exam was to begin, Department of Pre-University Education was alerted about question paper leak at two locations in the state.

The state government handed over the probe into the matter to CID, which has arrested several persons in connection with the case including the Officer on Special Duty to state minister Sharanprakash Patil.

Cracking the whip, the government had suspended 40 officers and other staff of the Pre-University Department, and also transferred the Director following the leak.

Over 1.74 lakh students wrote the exam across the state finally on April 12 under strict vigil.

Facing flak over handling of the examinations, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Rathnakar had announced that government was working on changing the rules for conduct of exams.