Answer sheet theft: cops arrest peons, to quiz students

Mumbai University officials suspect that the two peons caught on Wednesday attempting to steal answer papers are part of a larger racket.

Mumbai University officials suspect that the two peons caught on Wednesday attempting to steal answer papers are part of a larger racket.

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To curb such incidents in the future, the officials are now upgrading security measures at the Examination House, where answer sheets are corrected at the Kalina campus.

While closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were sanctioned for the entire Examination House last year, they have not yet been installed because of administrative hurdles.

“We are going to hasten the process and now install cameras in important locations within the next few days,” said Vilas Shinde, controller of examinations.

“We are also installing scanning machines that will scan the bags of everybody entering and leaving the examination house,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) police arrested the two peons, who were working as temporary staff at the university, on Wednesday night for stealing the answer sheets from the central assessment centre at the Kalina campus.

The accused, Suresh Manohar Bujbal, 30, and Ransingh Girase, 33, were caught trying to leave with eight engineering answer sheets tied to their legs.

The duo was arrested by security guards at the university and handed over to the BKC police.

Vinayak Sawade, senior police inspector of the BKC police, said: “We have booked the duo under section 381 (theft by an employee) of the Indian Penal Code. They were produced in the court and have been remanded to police custody till June 27. We will try to ascertain whether the students whose answer sheets were being stolen have any involvement.”