2 held for cheating in HSC exams; 3 cases on Monday

A man was arrested and a minor student detained in a case of “a proxy candidate” appearing for the higher secondary certificate (HSC) examinations, at Shahapur,

A man was arrested and a minor student detained in a case of “a proxy candidate” appearing for the higher secondary certificate (HSC) examinations, at Shahapur, which is 72km from Mumbai. The “proxy” case, which is from the first day of the examinations (February 18), was among the five malpractices reported across Mumbai division — which includes Thane, Raigad and Palghar — till Monday.

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The other cases are two instances of copying in Bandra’s Uttar Bhartiya Sangh Junior college and Goregaon’s Nutan Vidya Mandir on Monday. A student from Bhiwandi’s Rais High School and Junior College was found using a bluetooth device the same day. A student of Nutan Vidya Mandir tore her English answer paper last Tuesday.

In Shahapur, Rahul Ghavat,17, who was to appear for his English paper, asked his friend Nitesh Dhapte, 20, to take the test for him at Khardi Vidyalaya, police said.

“The examiner found something amiss with Dhapte’s body language. The examiner checked his hall ticket and alerted the flying squad. They realised he was a dummy student and immediately alerted the board. The school approached us with the complaint and we caught Ghavat as well,” said a police officer from Shahapur station.

Sandeep Sangave, secretary of the Mumbai divisional board, said a clarification would be sought as to why a report on the case was sent by the Khardi school nearly a week after the first paper was over. “We will ask them for an explanation and will look into the issue,” he added. The board will also inquire into the issue.

In the bluetooth case, the Bhiwandi police said no FIR has been registered in the case yet. “We have not received any such complaint from the school, as of now,” said R Shinde, DCP, Bhiwandi.

Across the state, a total of 77 malpractices were reported in Monday’s first session, which had the physics and secretarial practice paper, while 42 cases were reported in the political science paper in the second half.

In 2019, five papers of the SSC exam were reportedly leaked minutes before the exam in Bhiwandi. Several students got copies of the exam paper a day in advance. Two private tutors from Bhiwandi were arrested in the case. Similarly, the Vakola police had arrested a student after he was found with a copy of the English question paper on his phone. In cases where a police complaint is registered, the board also conducts an independent inquiry and takes disciplinary action, depending on the nature of offence.