Week after SSC paper leak, Maharashtra board clueless about its security failures

Why was vice-principal of a Bhiwandi school carrying papers , question experts

A week after the Mumbai divisional board filed a criminal complaint following the leak of secondary school certificate (SSC) exam papers in Bhiwandi, the board is yet to figure out how its security arrangements failed.

Mumbai Police discovered the school vice-principal had taken photos of the question papers in his car while they were being transported to exam centres.(HT FILE)

On March 22, Bhiwandi police arrested Ambar Ansari, vice principal of Kakatiya High School in Bhiwandi, the school has still not heard about the incident from any official channel.

“We have heard about Ansari’s arrest from reports in the press, but since we don’t have any official details from the police or the board yet, we are yet to take any action against him. He is currently absent from service,” said Ramesh Pasikanti, chairman of the school.

Ansari was arrested after Mumbai Police discovered he had taken photos of the question papers in his car while they were being transported to exam centres. The images were in his phone. But, Ansari shouldn’t have been the one carrying the papers, which are in sealed packages and accompanied by a police officer and an assistant.

Former officials from the Mumbai divisional board said that the assistant conductor or custodian is in charge of the papers being transported from main custody to the centres.

As per the norms, two students are supposed to be present as signatories when the seal is opened in the exam hall.

“Utmost care needs to be taken, especially in sensitive areas like Bhiwandi while transporting question papers. If the accused in this case opened the seal in his car before reaching the centre, did nobody see him doing so? Also, it is not easy to put back the seal when it is broken once. In such a case, did the centre not report to the board that the packets they received did not have a seal?” asked a former board official.

Govind Sharma, founder of a Bhiwandi-based non-governmental organisation named Samvad, said the Mumbai divisional board needs to introspect.

“A first information report (FIR) in the case was reported almost a week after the first email was sent by us. The board needs to take this issue seriously as more than 30 classes are under the radar, which means a huge number of students might have benefited from this,” he said.

Sources in Kakatiya High School said that in the absence of an assistant conductor, Ansari was the one who did everything related to the exams.

“The school has a staff of four people including the principal. The board had assigned the main duties of board exams only to Ansari,” Ramesh Pasikanti, chairman of the school said. In addition to being vice principal, Ansari teaches Science and is known as a good teacher.

From this year, the board introduced background verification of all staff members involved in exam-related work. Flying squads also visited several sensitive centres to ensure all processes were in place. Board officials, however, said Ansari’s background check found him to be clean. “There is no incident of malpractice reported against him in the past. We are waiting for the police report for further action,” said Sharad Khandagale, secretary, Mumbai divisional board.

Bhiwandi police to counsel 6 students

The Bhiwandi police will counsel the six students, who were found with copies of question papers in their phones a week ago, during the History and Political Science exam. Police have also confiscated their phones for investigation. “We will talk to them and help them understand the situation. They probably took this step under pressure,” said Maloji Shinde, senior police inspector, Narpoli police station.