Matriculation exam answer sheets lie on the Cuttack railway station platform on Wednesday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 14: Authorities of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) have decided to demand an explanation from the Railway Mail Service (RMS) officials for an alleged security lapse in transportation of answer booklets of the recently concluded matric examinations.

This move comes in the wake of reports that answer booklet parcels were spotted lying unattended at several points of Cuttack railway station last night. There were nearly 2,000 gunny bags on platform No. 1 and outside the railway mail service office near gate No. 2.

“We have been receiving reports of lapses on the part of RMS officials. We will take up the issue with senior railway officials,” said BSE secretary Ramakrushna Sahoo.

He said that every year matric answer copies were dispatched to valuation centres through RMS, as it was the most convenient way. “Railway post is a secure way to dispatch papers. We have begun an investigation into the matter and will take action if lapses are found,” Sahoo said. Official sources said the answer booklets were received in Cuttack and other RMS divisions from the first day of the matric examination. Several people in the city also corroborated the allegations of inadequate security of answer papers.

“I had come to drop my relatives at the station when I found matric answer copies lying on the platform. There was no official to guard them,” said Ramakant Mishra, a resident of Buxi Bazaar. He said such loopholes in the security system could result in the parcels being stolen, putting the future of thousands of students in the dark.

Protesting against the “callous attitude” of officials, activists of All-India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) today staged a demonstration outside the BSE office. “The board is playing with the future of students. The valuation was done under candlelight last year, and now, no security measures have been taken for the transportation of answer copies,” said AIDSO vice-president Ganesh Tripathy.

BSE officials said adequate measures had already been taken for evaluation of the answer copies scheduled to commence from March 17 at 74 centres across the state.