Maharashtra: Minor detained in Nagar in HSC paper leak case

A teacher at Dr Antonio Da Silva High School and Junior College lodged the FIR. Representation pic

The Mumbai Crime Branch detained a minor student from Nagar district of Maharashtra in the HSC paper leak case on Sunday. The math paper was leaked around 45 minutes prior to the exam on WhatsApp. A private college had registered an FIR with the Shivaji Park police after the math paper was found on the cell phone of one of the students who appeared for the exam on Friday. Later this student in Mumbai was also detained.

Supervisor catches student

The paper started at 11 am. According to the FIR, a teacher at Dr Antonio Da Silva High School and Junior College claimed that the supervisor of the school found a cell phone with one of the students after the exams were over and he was collecting the math answer papers. "I called the student in my cabin and the examiner to inform him about the incident as per protocol. We checked the student's mobile phone in front of him and found that at 10:17 am on March 3 he had got the math paper on Whatsapp. It has been forwarded to him from another Whatsapp number," the teacher said in his complaint.

"When we asked the student about the number, he said one of his friends had forwarded it to him," the complaint further reads.

Also read: Maharashtra HSC exam 2023: Seven students in distress saved from losing academic year

As per the FIR, the student had forwarded the paper to two more people and got the answers to the questions. The school reported the incident to the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Education, and based on the instructions of its officials, filed an FIR under various sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board, and Other Specified Examinations Act.

Others also booked

The case has been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch to probe the matter further and the Crime Branch has detained one minor student from Nagar district of Maharashtra. "The investigation in the matter is underway," said DCP Prashant Kadam (Detection). The FIR has been registered against the student and three other accused in the case.

Earlier, the English paper was also leaked and was viral on WhatsApp, after which six teachers in Parbhani district were booked by local police. The matter was also raised in the assembly where opposition leader Ajit Pawar lashed out at the government saying, "Is the government sleeping? The papers are being leaked right before the exams. What about the students who have studied hard for the exams?"

Both the accused minors will be produced before the juvenile court. The police suspect that the origin of the paper, at least prima facie, appears to be Buldhana, where a similar case of math paper leak was reported on Friday and five accused were arrested.