Cheat rises to august post

Puttanna, thrown out of university for submitting fake marks sheets, to be sworn in as deputy chairman of the state legislative council today

A politician thrown out of university for cheating is taking over as deputy chairman of Karnataka's upper house today.

Puttanna, JD(S) member of the legislative council, will be the second presiding officer of the august advisory body that helps government formulate policy.

Shockingly, he had submitted fake marks sheets to gain entry to a master's course, and was caught trying to cheat during his pre-university exams.

"Presiding officers are expected to be spotlessly clean," said an MLC from the Congress. "I am definitely not happy with the choice, though my party is supporting him."

Puttanna joined a master's course in rural development at Bangalore University in 1991, but he had not passed BA, the qualifying degree.

Worthy from Deve Gowda's party

>>Was caught cheating in exam hall
>>Flunked his English paper in BA
>>Tried to dupe Bangalore University
>>Escaped adverse probe report when files went missing
>>Will now preside over your destiny

'We were convinced he had cheated the university, and threw him out'

When the university verified his marks sheets, it came to know that he had failed his English paper in second BA. He lost his admission for submitting fake records.

"We were convinced he had cheated the university and threw him out," said a senior university official. "His political backing helped him go scot-free."

Later, Puttanna became a syndicate member of the same university. He had to face an inquiry when complaints poured in. But, the inquiry was inconclusive as the records vanished from the office.

Nothing wrong

"The commission could not say I had done anything wrong," said Puttanna. "It is a closed chapter."

After his disqualification, Puttanna went back to the Government Arts College to re-appear for the exam. But he sought a change of examination centre and got to write his exam from Devanahalli.u00a0 "It was a reward for someone who deserved punishment," said L Vasudevamurthy, university's ex-academic council member.

Puttanna joined the same university in 1992, after producing a degree pass certificate, and completed hisu00a0 MA degree in history.

'Wish me luck'

"My past is irrelevant to my present post," said Puttanna. "Instead of digging up the past, wish me good luck."