The 16-year-old was caught cheating at the exam centre at Y B Chavan School (left) on Tuesday. He had written the solutions on the blank sides of FIR complaint sheets (right)
The SSC student who wrote solutions to leaked 'C' batch Algebra paper on blank side of police complaint form and was caught cheating had failed Class IX twice.
The 16-year-old SSC student who was booked for carrying a leaked copy of the Algebra question paper, has changed his statement thrice since he was caught cheating at the exam centre at Y B Chavan School on Tuesday. What is even more shocking is that the student, son of a police constable with Borivali police station, had written the solutions on the blank sides of FIR complaint sheets - available at police stations -- which he carried to the exam centre.
After being caught in the act, he told examination supervisor Sunanda Kumbhar that his father had obtained the leaked question paper for him. A couple of hours later, he told the police that he had bought the question paper for Rs 500 from a person near Borivali railway station.
According to Kandivali police, by Tuesday night, the boy had changed his statement yet again, telling the police that two of his classmates at Mahesh Tutorials had given him the question paper. Though Bharti Sharma, centre head at the Kandivali branch of Mahesh Tutorials, denied that he was a student, he said that he would have to check with other centres.
Of the four sets of question papers (A, B, C, D), the accused was allotted bunch 'D'. However, the leaked question paper he had in his possession belonged to bunch 'C'. "The supervisor, Kumbhar, has given the boy's first statement in writing to us, which is different from the version he told police around 3 pm," said Laxmikant Pande, chairman, Mumbai division of the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Examination (MSBSHSE).
The board also found it fishy that the boy changed his statement after the police came into the scene. Pande said the school had not informed the police, yet the cops landed up on their own. The board also confirmed that the 68 centres where question papers are stored are under police guard.
"He told the police that he had bought the question paper near Borivali railway station around 10:50 am, went home and wrote the solutions before leaving for the exam centre. He reached half an hour late to the exam centre," said Pande.
Kandivali police filed the FIR at 1:30 am on Wednesday and booked him under the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and other Specified Examination Act. The accused was produced at the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday and has been kept at an observation home until further notice.
"We had questioned the father on Tuesday night, but he denied any knowledge of the leaked paper's source. Our investigation is still on, and he is also under the scanner since the student was found with FIR form sheets," said Hareshwar Pimple, senior PI, Kandivali police station.
The police also said the accused, formerly a student of Saint Dynamic School, had failed twice in Class IX. Curiously enough, he had filled up Form 17 and submitted his application for the SSC exams as a private candidate.
The board has submitted a report of Tuesday's episode to board chairman, G K Mamane, stating that a re-examination is not needed. "As per the statements of the police and the supervisor, we feel that the paper leak hasn't gone beyond the accused student, so a re-examination is not necessary. We have asked the police for a report on the source and the extent of the leak," said Pande.
In addition to the police's ongoing inquiry, the Mumbai divisional board office has appointed a four-member committee chaired by divisional board secretary P R Pawar and including the south zone education inspector, north zone deputy education inspector and senior superintendent of the board office. The committee has three specific focus areas to probe into -- the source, the extent of the paper leak, and recommendations to prevent it from happening again.
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