Amid tension at his residence in Karimnagar, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay was detained by the police for his alleged involvement in the Class 10 state board exam paper leak late on Tuesday, April 4. Sanjay refused to cooperate with the police and questioned why they were detaining him, even as his supporters gathered at the spot and began raising slogans against him. The police then cracked down on the protesters and took them into custody, along with Sanjay.
The BJP chief was later shifted to the Bommalaramaram police station in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. Sharing videos of his detention on Twitter, Sanjay wrote, “Fear is real in BRS.! First they stop me from conducting press meet & now arrest me late in night. My only mistake is to Question BRS govt on its wrong doings. Do not stop questioning BRS even if I am jailed. Jai Sri Ram !Bharat Mata ki Jai ! Jai Telangana !” (sic).
The row erupted after it was found that a picture of the Class 10 SSC Hindi question paper was being circulated on WhatsApp, just as the exam began on Tuesday morning. However, police have said that it was not an incident of a paper leak, but a student’s attempt to copy during the exam which has turned into a political issue. Police also pointed out that the ‘leak’ occurred after the exam began.
Fear is real in BRS.!
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) April 4, 2023
First they stop me from conducting press meet & now arrest me late in night.
My only mistake is to Question BRS govt on its wrong doings.
Do not stop questioning BRS even if I am jailed.
Jai Sri Ram !
Bharat Mata ki Jai !
Jai Telangana ! pic.twitter.com/hzdHtwVIoR
While the Hindi exam began at 9.30 am, a minor had allegedly climbed the tree outside an exam centre in Kamalapur village of Hanamkonda district, in a bid to help his friend by taking a picture of the question paper and bringing him chits accordingly.
The picture of the paper was then sent through a web of people to a WhatsApp group called ‘SSC 2019-2020’. It then came to the attention of a few journalists who assumed it was a paper leak, the Commissioner said. The image was also forwarded to Bandi Sanjay, who is the Member of Parliament representing Karimnagar.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sanjay had demanded the resignation of Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy for failing to conduct the exams in a foolproof manner. The Telangana government is already under severe pressure amid the TSPSC paper leak incident.