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Answer sheets destroyed in fire at teacher’s house; FIR against teacher who took papers home against rules and principal of school
Burnt answer sheets at the teacher’s home in Vasai. Pic/Hanif Patel
Answer sheets of the HSC examination were destroyed in a fire at a teacher’s residence in Virar West on March 10. Around 170 commerce answer sheets, which were kept on the sofa, were burnt after a fire broke out in the teacher’s house. In this matter, the Virar-based Bolinj police have registered an FIR against the school teacher and the principal for taking examination papers home for checking, which is against the rules.
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Completely charred sofa and answer sheets taken home by the teacher. Pics/Hanif Patel
The school teacher, Mugdha Lele, and the principal, Priya Rodrigues, both belong to Utkarsh School in Virar West. As per regulations, school teachers are not allowed to take examination papers home for evaluation. The education board has also initiated an inquiry into the matter. According to police officers, the incident occurred on March 10 between 1 pm and 2 pm while the school teacher, Lele, was outside with her family. She had kept all the papers on the sofa.
A police officer said, “Suddenly, a fire broke out due to a short circuit in the electrical board. The fire spread through the house, and the sofa caught fire. Around 170 answer sheets, which were kept on the sofa, were completely burnt. The fire brigade rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire.” The officer further stated, “All the answer sheets belonged to HSC commerce students. The school authorities have also informed the board.”
Speaking with mid-day, DCP Jayant Bajbale said, “As per the rules, HSC board papers are not allowed to be taken home for checking. We have booked school teacher Mugdha Lele for taking HSC answer sheets home for checking and principal Priya Rodrigues for allowing her to do so. We have also informed the education board about the incident. Prima facie, the fire brigade's report suggests that the fire broke out due to a short circuit. We are investigating the matter further.”
mid-day tried to get in touch with education department officials on the effect of this incident on the marks of the students conncerned, but they were unavailable for comment.
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