SSC question paper leak case: Warangal WhatsApp groups under police radar

According to police sources, the accused had forwarded the SSC Hindi question paper mainly in two WhatsApp groups called 'SSC 2019-2020' and 'Srinu Friends'

Warangal: The police, who are investigating the SSC Hindi question paper leak case, are planning to grill the administrators of WhatsApp groups that shared the question paper on Tuesday. According to police sources, the accused had forwarded the paper mainly in two WhatsApp groups called ‘SSC 2019-2020’ and ‘Srinu Friends’.

The second accused, Booram Prashanth, shared the paper in the ‘Srinu Friends’ group being run by Bodige Srinivas alias Srinu, who is working as a cameraman for a Telugu channel for a long time. As this group consists both working journalists and former journalists, the paper was widely circulated among other WhatsApp groups and caused panic among parents of students who appeared for the Hindi exam. Meanwhile, the fifth accused, Shiva Nagesh, put the paper in the “SSC 2019-2020” group. In view of this, the police are planning to record the statements of the administrators of both the groups. Both these two WhatsApp groups have been mentioned in the remand report as well.

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“Though running WhatsApp groups by journalists and others to share the news and alerts is common and acceptable everywhere, the platform should not circulate information that can cause chaos, unrest and fear among the public. It is the responsibility of the admins to ensure that the message/information should not cause damage either to innocent individuals or the government system. In this case, the admins of the WhatsApp group run by a cameraman seem to have not bothered about the repercussions of the incident,” an advocate said.

Meanwhile, some journalists, who are members of the same group, alleged that the group had circulated objectionable and unwanted messages and photos in the group several times.

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Warangal Police Commissioner AV Ranganath said: “We will give notice to all those with whom the question paper photos were shared. Their statements will be recorded.”