KEA exam scam: Two more arrested; kingpin still elusive

Kalaburagi, Nov 10 (IANS) Two persons have been arrested on charges of sheltering and helping the kingpin of Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) exam scam to escape.  

The arrested persons were identified as Shankar Gouda Yalawar from Shahapur and Dilip Pawar, a resident of Kalaburagi, police said on Friday.

Shankar had allegedly rented out his flat to the kingpin R.D. Patil and Dilip had facilitated it, the police said.

Dilip had taken Rs 10,000 advance from R.D. Patil and given the amount to Shankar. Both colluded to allegedly give Patil shelter and helped him escape.

On November 6, Patil had escaped from the flat by jumping off from the compound wall of the apartment and a video of the incident had gone viral on social media.

Patil has 16 cases registered against him, most of them related to recruitment scams, police said.

The Karnataka police have made more than 20 arrests in the scam. The BJP has been demanding a CBI probe into the matter.

However, RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge is maintaining that the Karnataka police department is thoroughly investigating the scam in which some candidates used bluetooth devices for cheating.

Rejecting the demand for the CBI probe, he had maintained that the probe is being conducted efficiently.

Patil had filed nomination from Afzalpur Assembly constituency in Karnataka as a candidate from Samajwadi Party after securing a bail in the PSI scam.

Patil was arrested in connection with the infamous PSI recruitment scandal. After obtaining bail in the scam, his role in the KEA scam surfaced.

The opposition, Karnataka BJP, has been accusing police and government of protecting Patil.

BJP MLA B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government and its ministers are "puppets" in the hands of Patil.

"It is not possible for him to escape unless he is supported by the ministers and MLAs. Patil is not a common man. He has direct contact and support of top leaders of Congress government. He manages to escape even after an SP ranked officer getting information about whereabouts indicates the role of invisible hands," he had said.

Slamming Minister Priyank Kharge, Vijayendra stated that the present district in-charge minister had levelled charges in connection with the accused against the previous BJP government.

"However, now, it is evident that the Congress party is totally supporting him. Supporting the alleged accused is unfortunate and a failure of administration," Vijayendra said.

--IANS

mka/svn