PSI scam: Topper arrested in Bengaluru for tampering with exam sheet - Report

In a new development in the ongoing investigations into the police sub-inspector recruitment exam scam in Karnataka, the CID, which is probing the case, has arrested the topper of the exam, Kushal Kumar J.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) that is probing the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam in Karnataka has arrested the exam topper for tampering with his answer sheet. According to reports, the topper identified as Kushal Kumar J, is accused of tampering with his Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet.

The CID has arrested the topper of the scam-tainted PSI exams conducted in Karnataka. (Getty Images/ only for representation)

According to a report published on The Indian Express, CID officials said Kumar was arrested after it was revealed that the objective part of the exam, which consisted of the multiple choice questions in his OMR answer sheet had been tampered with.

A fresh first information report (FIR) was filed by the CID on Wednesday and Kumar was arrested. Kumar reportedly obtained 137.25 marks out of his total score of 167.75 from the objective part of the questionnaire, which he was accused to have tampered with, and 30.5 marks from the written part. He secured the first rank at the exam, which was set for a total of 200 marks.

The arrest count in the case has now surpassed 50, as the CID arrested as many as seven candidates last week for tampering with their OMR sheets after registering five new FIRs in Bengaluru. These candidates' OMR sheets showed differences from its carbon copy after being inspected by forensic department officials.

The recruitment exams to fill the posts of 545 PSIs were held in October last year and the scam came to fore after it was revealed that several candidates had exercised fraudulent methods and malpractices to score well. Kalaburagi, which is said to be the epicentre of the scam, was the exam centre from where most rankers emerged.

However, when CID sleuths discovered that malpractices had occurred in other exam centres, including Bengaluru, a CID officer in April had filed a fresh FIR naming 22 candidates who had allegedly tampered with their OMR sheets. Amid a massive uproar, the Basavaraj Bommai government decided to scrap the examinations held last year and announced that a re-examination will soon be held. However, no date has been announced as of yet.

The scrapping of last year's exam results has invited widespread rebuttal from candidates across the state, some of whom have also held protests against the government's decision.