Page 40 - June2018

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When exam toppers become

prime accused in paper leak

News & The Special Investigation Team set up by the Chandigarh Police
has been criticised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for its
views indifferent approach to the Haryana Judicial paper leak
Bharat hiteshi
hen the Punjab raised the needle of suspicion on the
Hiteshi is an and Haryana High investigators rather than the accused.
independent journalist- Court criticised When the Court summoned Chan-
turned-author and a Chandigarh Police’s digarh DGP, it was not surprising in the
political commentator. Special Investiga- given circumstance. The court has not
The views expressed W tion Team (SIT) by minced any words in observing that the
are his own calling its enquiry into the paper leak SIT appears to have “connived” with the
of the Haryana Civil Service (Judicial) accused.
recruitment exam “putting chilies in the The SIT formed by the Punjab and
eyes of Bench”, it reflected that the court Haryana High Court and headed by
was unhappy with the SIT’s lackadaisical Ravi Kumar Singh, IPS, Superintendent
effort in the case. It appears that had the of Police (Crime and Investigation) has
full bench of the Court not pulled up the arrested its former Registrar (Recruit-
team, the case would have been treated ment) Balwinder Sharma after evidence
as closed, thus making a mockery of the showed he was in constant touch with
investigations. the prime accused in the paper leak.
The police was expected to take Sharma, who had been transferred from
special care and the SIT constituted by the high court after his suspension and
it should have worked diligently as the pending action, was arrested for custo-
main accused was none other than the dial interrogation at Ropar. The probe
Registrar (Recruitment), an officer of the revealed that hundreds of calls were
rank of Additional District Judge. Using exchanged between Sharma and the two
his legal expertise, he deftly managed candidates- Sunita and Sushila, who later
to secure an order that helped him ac- turned out to be toppers in the judicial
cess statements of witnesses recorded exam in general and reserved category,
before a magistrate under Section 164 respectively.
of the CrPC. The High Court has not only The high court had on September
censured the police but also questioned 15 entrusted the probe into the case
the public prosecutor’s “intentions”. with the Chandigarh police since the
Had the Court The public prosecutor neither appealed examination was held there. The SIT
against the order allowing sharing of vi-
was constituted on September 18 and an
not pulled up the tal evidence, nor informed the court. Sig- FIR was registered. Sharma’s arrest is in
SIT, the Judicial nificantly, the Punjab and Haryana High line with the recommendations of the
Recruitment/ promotion/Court Creation
Court is itself monitoring the case. The
paper leak case High Court is the recruitment authority Committee, which had said in Septem-
would have been for judicial services and as such its own ber that, “Keeping in view the finding
that Dr. Balwinder Sharma, Registrar
prestige and image is at a stake. The Full
treated as closed, Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High (Recruitment) unequivocally stated that
thus making a Court has questioned the failure of the he had no prior acquaintance with Ms
Chandigarh Police to file an appeal as the
Sunita (the topper in general category),
mockery of the trial court order can jeopardise the out- while the call details given by the service
investigations come of the case. The manner in which provider reveal that there were a total of
760 calls and SMSs exchanged between
the SIT has allowed the case to proceed,

Tehelka / 15 june 2018 40 www.Tehelka.com

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