Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the leak of CBSE papers said it wrote to Google seeking details related to an e-mail sent to CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal claiming that class 10 mathematics paper had being leaked a night before the exam.

A senior Crime Branch officer informed that “in the mail the sender had stated that as the mathematics paper had leaked on WhatsApp it should be cancelled. The mail also contained a 12-page handwritten attachment of the leaked paper.”

The officer claimed that the Crime Branch had identified ten WhatsApp groups to whom the leaked handwritten papers were sent. “The leaked papers (class 12 economics and class 10 mathematics) were shared by these groups comprising 50-60 members. Four numbers were registered in the names of tutors. The admins of some of the groups were either students or tutors,” said the officer.

Names of two groups ~ Premier Economist A and Econvisionaire along with their admins Naveen and Dr. Poonam Agarwal respectively ~ were registered in the FIR, the officer said while. mentioning that the Crime Branch had seized 15 phones owned by students, teachers and coaching centre owners.

The officer said about 45 people including teachers, students and other suspected coaching centre owners had been interrogated but added that the investigating agency had yet to identify the source from where the class 10 and 12 papers had leaked.

Meanwhile, students and parents continued to demonstrate their angst against paper leak on Friday. The students’ wing of the Congress, NSUI, also joined the scores of students protesting near Udyog Bhawan.

protesting students and parents also gathered at Connaught Place to voice their protest against re-examination of both the papers claiming that the fault lay with the CBSE and the HRD Ministry, for which they should not be made to more suffering.

Talking to The Statesman, Laksh Keshwani remarked: “I had vacation plans after my exams but CBSE’s decision to hold retest has messed up everything. They should find out the culprits and punish them, not others.”

Earlier on Thursday, CBSE officials were interrogated by the SIT. The regional director and secretary of CBSE reportedly explained how the board exams were conducted.

They are understood to have provided information about all examination centres with names of their staff and superintendents, bank custodians and names and contact details of bank managers in Delhi and Haryana. The CBSE’s regional director police said had admitted that there were as many as six complaints regarding paper leak.