Bangalore University evaluation scam: Syndicate recommendes withdrawing 804 pupils' results

A day after the DH report “Evaluation scam unearthed at BU”, the Bangalore University syndicate recommended withdrawal of results of 804 undergraduate and post-graduate students whose answer scripts were allegedly tampered with, even as the role of higher-ups in the scam is being suspected.

Tuesday’s syndicate meeting, according to some members who were present, passed a resolution to withdraw the results of all the 804 students alleged to have been part of the scam.

The syndicate has also decided to hand over the case to CID for a detailed investigation and directed the appointment of an internal technical committee to probe into the incident. “The syndicate also resolved to order an inquiry by the state auditor general into malpractices during the examination,” the official clarified.

The university will send a notice to students asking them to return the marks cards. “The marks cards, which are still in the custody of colleges, have to be returned to BU by the college administration immediately,” said an official of the BU.

Meanwhile, an employee of the firm which had bagged the tender to scan the OMR sheets, had even tendered a written apology over the incident on December 1, 2020 to the firm, pointing fingers at higher-ups in the scam.

The apology letter, a copy of which was accessed by DH, read, “Due to some high pressure from an influential person, I have made some changes in marks.” The employee even confessed to his role in the crime and revealed that he had tampered with marks of 15 students during the November/December 2019 exam. The firm has filed a complaint against him.

Commenting on the incident, the company spokesperson said, “We have solid evidence of this entire scam and had even filed a complaint to save the company’s honour. Our staffer has let us down. Those who did wrong have to be punished by the law. We will help the university identify the black-sheep as this has been happening for quite some time.”

The apology letter has raised questions over the involvement of “influential” people. “Let the firm reveal who these influential people are. Are they from the university or belong to the private firm? Are they government officials?” a syndicate member demanded to know.

In the meantime, BU authorities revealed to DH that it was not just the answer scripts of 804 students, but more than 5,000 such cases were identified in the examination section.