PUNE: Fifty question papers of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or class 10 geography examination scheduled on Wednesday were allegedly stolen from the strong room at a school in Sangola town of Solapur district, raising concerns over safety and handling of confidential board examination material.
The theft came to light Tuesday morning when education department officials, along with the custodian, visited the strong room at Sangola Vidya Mandir to dispatch the previous day’s examination papers. At around 8.30 am, they found the lock of the strong room broken pointing to a likely break-in during the night. While the strong room is meant for secure storage of SSC board examination papers, preliminary investigation indicates that two packets containing around 50 class 10 geography examination papers are missing.
The police said that CCTV cameras installed outside the strong room were non-functional at the time of the theft, leaving investigators without crucial surveillance footage and raising questions over maintenance of security systems. Given that the breach went unnoticed despite a local watchman and three police personnel deployed at the site, authorities are also probing the role of these security personnel.
Senior police officials including additional superintendent of police (Addl. SP), Solapur rural, Pritam Yawalkar; and Dy. SP rural Basavaraj Shivpuje rushed to the spot after the incident was reported. A detailed probe has been launched to trace the stolen question papers and identify those responsible.
{{/usCountry}}Senior police officials including additional superintendent of police (Addl. SP), Solapur rural, Pritam Yawalkar; and Dy. SP rural Basavaraj Shivpuje rushed to the spot after the incident was reported. A detailed probe has been launched to trace the stolen question papers and identify those responsible.
{{/usCountry}}Yawalkar told Hindustan Times, “The question paper sheets for the geography examination scheduled on Wednesday were kept in a custody room at Sangola Vidyamandir under the supervision of the block development officer. This (Tuesday) morning, it was found that the lock had been broken and two packets containing 50 question papers had been stolen by an unknown person. Further investigation is underway.”
Yawalkar said that forensic experts, a dog squad and fingerprint teams have been called in and the crime branch has joined the probe. “It has been observed that the CCTV systems were not functioning at the time. Security arrangements included a local watchman and three police personnel but the incident went unnoticed. Appropriate departmental action will be taken against those found negligent,” he said.
The police said that all angles, including possible insider involvement and procedural lapses, are being examined. Further updates are awaited.
Meanwhile, chairman, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Trigun Kulkarni, told Hindustan Times, “It appears that the incident may have occurred due to internal conflicts. Our divisional officer is currently at the spot. We are reviewing CCTV footage from outside the premises which was functioning since the campus CCTV was not operational. The examination will not be cancelled and will be conducted as per the scheduled timetable.”
“If the person who stole the papers intended to leak them, there would have been no reason to take all 50 question papers; that does not make sense. Therefore, there is no need for parents and students to panic. The examinations will proceed as scheduled,” Kulkarni said.