Another 31 students under scanner in engg exam scam

MUMBAI: The Mumbai university (MU) submitted to the police names of 31 more first-year engineering students, who allegedly got their answer sheets smuggled out of

MUMBAI: The Mumbai university (MU) submitted to the police names of 31 more first-year engineering students, who allegedly got their answer sheets smuggled out of the examination centre, so they could rewrite them.

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The scam was unearthed last week, after the arrest of eight MU employees. A total of 127 answer booklets were found to be missing from the exam house at Kalina. The MU had earlier given the details of 96 students, whose answer sheets were missing.

“We have, over the weekend, shared the details of all candidates. We believe the police have started questioning some of the students,” said Deepak Wasave, controller of examinations, MU.

In a statement to the media last week, MU vice-chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh said most of the students are from the 20 engineering colleges in Navi Mumbai. While two MU employees involved in the case are absconding, 69 other employees have been transferred.

The police are investigating whether more employees were involved. “The police have so far only sought information on students. No information on employees has been sought as yet,” said Wasave.

The incident came to light on May 21, when acting on a tip-off, the Bhandup police arrested university employees with answer sheets of engineering students. A search by MU officials revealed many answer booklets were missing and an FIR was registered. The MU’s management council also suggested a criminal investigation department (CID) probe into the matter, while a separate fact-finding committee was set up by the MU to conduct an internal inquiry.