New Delhi: The CBSE was last week tipped off about a coaching centre leaking question papers and informed police, it emerged on Thursday after the cops detained the suspect and questioned 25 people, including some students and teachers of the coaching institute.
Officers announced the detention of Vicky, owner of the Vidya Coaching Centre in Delhi's Rajinder Nagar locality, but couldn't explain why they hadn't acted after receiving the board's complaint on Saturday, two days before the first leaked test.
In its police complaint, the CBSE mentioned receiving a "complaint by fax on March 23 (Friday) from unknown source at 4.22pm" that said a man running a coaching institute in Rajinder Nagar was involved in leaking question papers, a board source said.
"The said complaint also named two schools in Rajinder Nagar for their involvement in the alleged leakage," the CBSE's police complaint added, according to the board source.
He said the fax did not reveal which papers had been or would be leaked, nor did it name the suspect. He added that the cops were informed on Saturday, a fact police officers acknowledged.
"Vicky is being questioned. Our teams raided and searched 10 places in the capital," a crime branch officer said. He said an inside job was a possibility.
Vicky, in his 40s, is a commerce graduate from Delhi University and started the coaching centre in 1996, officers said, adding that he himself taught Class X mathematics and Class XI economics at the centre.
About 100 students gathered at Jantar Mantar on Thursday morning to protest the CBSE's decision to hold retests in the two papers.
“If the students are prepared for the exams and the syllabus doesn’t change,
it doesn’t matter if the exams are held again,” Rani told reporters on Thursday. “If students
are just mugging up then it’ll be a problem. If they’re preparing from day 1
then it doesn’t matter.” She added: “Of course, it changes their vacation plans a bit.” PTI
On Wednesday, the CBSE had announced that the Class X mathematics and Class XII economics tests - held on Wednesday and Monday, respectively - would be held again because the questions had been leaked.
Officers said 24 Class X students had received the mathematics questions and 10 Class XII students the economics questions, all via WhatsApp.
"All 34 will be questioned," an officer said. "Our initial finding is that the papers were leaked the night before the exam." Sources said the 25 people questioned on Thursday included 18 students and five tutors but would not say if all of them were connected to the coaching centre.
R.P. Upadhyaya, special commissioner of police, said: "Vicky is being questioned. We are trying to ascertain the WhatsApp number that shared the question first. The teachers of the coaching centre are under the scanner too."
On Monday, the board's academic unit at Rouse Avenue received an un-addressed envelope containing four sheets of handwritten answers to the Class XII economics paper, scheduled the same day, the board's complaint said.
"It was indicated in the papers kept inside the envelope that the question paper was leaked and circulated through WhatsApp group numbers," it added.
The board got wise to the mathematics paper leak when some of the student recipients of the WhatsApp messages alerted it.
Sources said the crime branch had asked the CBSE to provide the names of the presses that print the question papers and the details of how the papers are sent to the exam centres and the security features in place. The police have registered two FIRs, one for each leaked paper, against unknown people for cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
Don't worry: CBSE
CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal said on Thursday the re-exam decision was taken in "favour of students and in utmost fairness". Very soon we will announce the dates. Any further decision would also be taken in the favour of the students," she said.
"Students don't have to worry about anything. We are with them."
