According to police, the paper had got leaked on March 16 and the AU authorities had received a WhatsApp message containing the images of the leaked paper about one hour before the exam. After this, the AU Registrar Professor V Umamaheswara Rao cancelled the BSc-III mathematics examination (linear algebra and vector calculus), which was already in progress in 79 centres of the university, police said.
The arrested have been identified as Kuracha Suresh (43), Principal and Chief Superintendent of Vidyarthi Degree College, Chodavaram, Kuracha Santhosh (27), a relative of the principal and who also works as a computer operator in the college, Pasila Gunaji (20), Bodi Demudu (20), Puthi Thrinadh (21), Vijaya (all students) and Murali, a maths lecturer in the college, police said.
"On their request, Santosh asked the students to come to the college around 9 am on March 16 as the examination was scheduled to begin at 2 pm. The students were given a photocopy of the question paper. The students then approached another mathematics lecturer Murali to solve the paper. Gunaji took a picture of the question paper and uploaded and circulated it through WhatsApp," he said.
"Based on the complaint, Inspector of Three-Town Police Station B Venkata Rao and his team investigated the case and nabbed the accused," the DCP said.
Further investigation into the case is on.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content