Mumbai: 2 arrested for HSC book-keeping and accountancy paper leak

The Navi Mumbai cyber cell has cracked the HSC book-keeping and accountancy paper leak case and arrested two people. The first arrest was made last week and the second on Wednesday.

The Navi Mumbai cyber cell has cracked the HSC book-keeping and accountancy paper leak case and arrested two people. The first arrest was made last week and the second on Wednesday.

On March 9, 30 minutes before the Higher Secondary Certificate examination commenced, photographs of three pages of the question paper had gone viral on WhatsApp. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) authorities had reported the matter to Navi Mumbai police on March 10, since their head office is in Vashi.

“After the initial enquiry, we registered an FIR on March 20 and arrested one teacher, Asgar Ali Surpur, 36, last week. He is a resident of Malad and works with a school in Malvani. He was the press coordinator of that school and had access to the papers,” said Pratibha Shendge, police inspector, Navi Mumbai cyber cell.

According to Shendge, Surpur took photographs of the paper on his mobile phone 30 minutes before the exam started and then sent them to students on WhatsApp. He did not charge anything in return. Almost all the students of the school were believed to have received the photographs before the examination commenced.

The accused have been booked under sections 6 and 7 of Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractice at University Board and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982 and sections 43D, 66 and 72 of the IT Act, 2000. The Belapur court has remanded them to judicial custody. Suresh Mengade, deputy commissioner of police (crime), confirmed the arrests.