Bangalore : Students appearing for the ongoing exams of the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) at the Gangamma Hombegowda PU College were in for a rude shock on Thursday.

Minister for Higher Education, C T Ravi, along with a number of Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP) activists and representatives of a news channel paid a surprise visit to the exam centre and allegedly found exam malpractices including mass copying.

The students were appearing for their MBA, BTech, MTech, MSc, BSc and BCA exams that began on Saturday.
“A journalist from a news channel had conducted a sting operation on Wednesday by posing as a replacement for another student in the exam. She gave the custodian Rs 1,000 and was allowed to write the exam. It is malpractices such as this that we want to expose,” said Balaji, an ABVP activist.

The Parishat alleged that this was nothing new in the KSOU exams. It said that the authorities in charge of conducting the exams were also to be blamed for the malpractices.

“In the past three years, this is the first time I have come across such complaints. Nevertheless, I will ensure that a proper inquiry is conducted and anyone found guilty is punished. Students should not face any inconvenience because of this incident. The minister has requested me to take appropriate action,” said KSOU Vice Chancellor K S Rangappa.

However, the invigilators and head of the examination at the centre said the ABVP activists indulged in acts of harassment and manhandling.

“Members of the ABVP came inside the room and started shouting at us. They tore answersheets of the students and forcefully took out textbooks from the bags. That is when they started filming us. They raised slogans against the KSOU as well,” said an invigilator.

ABVP activists said they had recovered several proofs of malpractices.