'Why not push back-up BCom paper if MU suspected leak?'

MUMBAI: In the MU paper leak case, police Thursday registered an offence under Section 65 of the IT Act and 316 of BNS, officials said.

But even as the university initiated action, sources across colleges said that though senior MU officials had been alerted to a suspected paper leak, they did not push a back-up question paper.

An order dated April 22 recorded that the temporary peon, Indap, assigned exam-related duties, was found guilty of "serious misconduct" and violation of office discipline, with the university noting an adverse impact on exam processes. He has been removed from service with immediate effect. Three others - Praveen Kotian, Vishal Parab and Abhishek Ghadigavkar -- entrusted with handling confidential examination work, have been served show-cause notices for alleged negligence and unauthorised access to the exam control room. The notices cite a "serious breach of confidentiality" on their part.

The notices further state that one staff member failed to prevent unauthorised entry into the control room, while two others allegedly accessed the restricted area without permission. All three have been asked to submit written explanations within seven days, failing which further action will be taken under university rules.

What remains under scrutiny is the varsity's response after an early warning from a Bandra college. Two students were found with a question paper shortly before the April 15 Direct and Indirect Taxes exam. A source said, "We had downloaded the paper but packets were sealed, so we could not immediately verify its authenticity. We informed the exam head, who asked us to detain the students in the strongroom and seize their phones."

At the time, the university's flying squad was rushing to another Bandra college, where six students were found with the same paper bearing the watermark '270' - the exam centre number for CDOE. "One student said he received it from a coaching class contact. The flying squad later found the paper circulating on a WhatsApp group of a coaching academy. Two earlier papers - cost accountancy and business economics - were also shared minutes before the exams," a source added.

Senate member Pradeep Sawant of Yuva Sena said, "Why is the CDOE director not held accountable? Also, rules say if a paper leaks, it is important to push the second question paper. The MU has to keep three papers ready before any exam to ensure integrity of the exam. There is no clarity on how many students had received these question papers."


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