Crime branch officials during the raid at the Royal College of Science and Technology at Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 24: Crime branch officials today conducted raids on a private Plus II science college at Mancheswar Industrial Area in connection with the question paper leak during the Council for Higher Secondary Education tests held in March this year.

This is the first time the crime branch raided a private college in Bhubaneswar since taking charge of the case, which came to light on March 7. Several other private residential science colleges in the city are also on the crime branch radar.

A five-member team of the crime branch raided Royal College of Science and Technology, the residential college, and seized documents. An official said they had specific evidence of alleged involvement of the college authorities in the physics question paper leak.

“We have seized the students’ admission records, their performance records, question papers of various subjects prepared by the college authorities for mock tests and many other documents. We quizzed the chairman and other academic and administrative employees of the college,” said deputy superintendent of police (crime branch) S.K. Pattnaik, who was heading the team.

Sources said 316 students of the college took the council tests at the BJB college centre this year. The college that opened in 2003 has been showing 100 per cent results in Plus II tests for the last five years with the majority of the students getting first division. During the last three years, the students of this college featured in the best-20 list. Last year, of 234 students, who had taken the tests, 208 got first divisions.

“The unusual result shows how these private Plus II colleges have been using their nexus. We are trying to collect all the evidence,” said another official.

“We condemn such incidents. Our students are provided best possible teaching and its reflects in their results. We will co-operate with the crime branch officials in their probe,” said chairman-cum-director of the college Bishnu Mohan Mohanty.

Back-to-back question paper leak cases had created ripples across the state in March. The physics question paper was found to be leaked on March 7, while the chemistry paper was leaked a day prior to the test scheduled on March 9. The authorities had to cancel both the tests and reschedule them.

Kalahandi police arrested the superintendent of Mahalinga Anchalika College examination centre in connection with the chemistry paper leak.

Till date, the crime branch has arrested six persons in connection with the physics question paper leak. They have arrested former deputy secretary of the council (Sambalpur zone) Debendra Behera, two officials of Sandilya College of Science and Commerce — principal Kartik Barik and marketing executive Khageswar Barik.