Student involved in janivara row gets 2.06 lakh rank in KCET

Suchivrat K. Kulkarni, a student from Bidar, secured a rank of 2.06 lakh in the CET, after the results were announced on Saturday. Suchivrat was among the four students across the State who were involved in the ‘janivara’ (sacred thread) row. He had alleged that the exam centre in-charges asked him to remove the ‘janivara’ in order to appear for the mathematics paper.

Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar said, “The Karnataka Examinations Authority conducts all its entrance tests as per National Testing Agency (NTA) rules without any irregularities. However, ‘janivara’ was not restricted in the CET guidelines. However, the stir was caused by the examination staff and security guards at two examination centers in Shivamogga and Bidar. Later, action was taken against the guilty based on the report given by the Deputy Commissioners of the districts concerned.”

“A student from Bidar had not written the mathematics exam in CET. An expert committee was formed reported on whether to give the student the exam again or to give the rank based on the average marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry in his II PUC exam and CET. This was discussed with the student’s parents, who requested that the rank be given based on the PUC and CET average marks,” the Minister said, adding the rank was given after obtaining a consent letter from the parents.

However, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has already promised to provide the student with a free engineering seat in a Bidar college.

Seat blocking

Commenting on the alleged engineering seat blocking scam of last year, the Minister said that the police have filed a chargesheet in court regarding the alleged engineering seatblocking scam and it will be examined thoroughly. He also said if the police investigation is not satisfactory , a decision will be taken after discussing with legal experts.

“The matter of the police filing a charge-sheet in the court came to light recently. The police have not given us a copy of the charge sheet. we will get a copy and study it comprehensively. If the investigation had not been conducted as per the FIR and documents we have produced, an appropriate decision will be taken regarding the further investigation,” he said.