CBSE paper leak: All 3 accused get 2-day custody, board official suspended

The accused were identified as Rishabh and Rohit, teachers at a private school, and Touqeer, a tutor at a coaching centre in DBawana

Delhi Police on Sunday arrested one coaching centre owner and two other teachers in Delhi's Bawana for their involvement in the Central Board of Examination (CBSE) Class X and Class XII paper-leak episode, according to media reports. 

Delhi's Karkardooma court sends all the three accused arrested in the case to two days police custody, reported ANI

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Joint CP Crime Branch briefed the press about happenings of the leak. According to the police, the examination papers are generally supposed to be opened 15 minutes before by the invigilator, but the economics paper was opened about 30-40 minutes earlier. Following which Tauqeer, one of the accused forwarded the paper to the students. 

The accused were identified as Rishabh and Rohit, teachers at a private school, and Tauqeer, a tutor at a coaching centre in Bawana, reported Press Trust of India.

The coaching centre owner, Touqeer, had allegedly leaked the economics paper half an hour before the exam and sent it to the teachers on WhatsApp, the police told PTI.

Human Resource Development Ministry Secretary Anil Swarup announced the suspension of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) official K.S. Rana and the institution of a formal inquiry against him.

"On HRD Minister Prakash Javdekar's direction for swift action against culprits, the CBSE has suspended K.S. Rana, who was found lax in supervising examination centre 0859 with immediate effect. A formal inquiry has been instituted," Swarup said in a series of tweets.

"Consequent to the arrest of two teachers of Mother Khajani Convent School, Mungeshpur, Delhi, and coaching institute head Tauquir by Delhi Police, for colluding to leak the Class 12 economics paper and a probe carried out by the CBSE, a board personnel K.S. Rana was found lax in supervision," he wrote.

The re-test for Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE's) Class 12 economics paper will be held on April 25, while the Class 10 mathematics re-test, if required, will be conducted only for Delhi-NCR and Haryana in July, the government has said. All the confusion regarding the CBSE re-test should be cleared now after the announcements made by his ministry, said Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar. Students will have to take the Class 10 CBSE maths re-test only if the leak is found to be a large-scale one, added Javadekar. 

According to ANI, the Delhi Police on Saturday sent three teams to schools, exam centres and their houses in outer Delhi to investigate the Class X and XII paper leaks.

More than 60 people have been questioned till now, out of which 10 are tutors of coaching centres. Moreover, about 50 mobile phones of students and tutors have been seized, reported ANI.

According to Police, e-mail address details have been received from Google and that the person who sent the mail has been identified and inquiry is on. A total of 53 students and 7 teachers have been questioned so far, ANI reported.

Earlier, in a significant breakthrough, Delhi Police's crime branch has received a reply from Google on the details it had sought pertaining to the e-mail address from where the CBSE chairperson was sent a mail about the Class 10 mathematics paper being leaked, sources told PTI. The official, however, refused to share any other detail regarding Google's response.

The CBSE has shared information regarding how board papers are conducted with the police, which is probing the CBSE paper leaks. In a letter to the police, the CBSE gave details about the examination centres, names of staff and superintendents at the centres, bank custodians, as well as the names and contact details of bank managers who had custody of the leaked papers in Delhi and Haryana.   
 

After the CBSE re-examination announcement came, a CBSE student from Cochin on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the re-examination of the Class 10 maths paper. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has questioned over 60 people in connection with the CBSE leak case, including the administrators of over 10 WhatsApp groups on which the leaked question papers were shared, as the investigators sought to trace the origin of the leak.

Anil Swarup, Secretary School Education in Union Human Resources Development Ministry, said the decision to conduct fresh exams won't affect the date of publication of the results, which usually happens in May end. However, there will be no fresh test outside of India as the question papers are different for students appearing for CBSE examinations outside India. 

Important CBSE announcements:

• No leak of CBSE papers outside India, hence no re-exam will be held abroad

• CBSE Class X Mathematics examination likely to be held in July

• Class XII Economics re-exam on April 25: Education Secretary

Ever since the papers were leaked, scores of students have been protesting to express their dissatisfaction over the poor governance and the CBSE re-examination decision. 

On Wednesday, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed after the CBSE registered two cases with the Crime Branch.

The question paper of the Class 12 Economics exam, which was held on March 26, and Class 10 Maths, held on March 28, were leaked on social media hours before the examination. 

A first information report (FIR) earlier revealed that CBSE had received an e-mail from devn532@gmail.com on March 28 at 1.29 am with 12 images of the CBSE Class 10 mathematics paper, but the CBSE completely ignored the tip-off sent by a person yet to be identified, according to media reports. The leaked CBSE paper, which was even circulated on social media application WhatsApp, was initially sold off for Rs 35,000, but the prices later dropped to Rs 5,000, according to media reports. It is alleged that 1,000 students in Delhi may have accessed the paper. 

Read our coverage on the CBSE re-examination dates announcement: CBSE class 12 re-exam on April 25, class 10 re-test likely in July; updates 

The Delhi Police wrote to Google asking it to share details of the ID from which the CBSE chairperson was sent the e-mail about the paper being leaked, police officials said.  

You can check the board’s official announcements regarding the re-examination at www.cbse.nic.in. CBSE helpline numbers listed on their site are: 91-11-22509256, 22509257, 22509258, 22509259.  

Here are the top 10 developments in the CBSE re-examination fiasco and the case around the CBSE paper leak: 

1) All three accused in exam paper leak get two-day custody: Delhi's Karkardooma court sends all the three accused arrested in the case to two days police custody, reported ANI.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Joint CP Crime Branch briefed the press about the happenings of the leak. According to the police, the examination papers are generally supposed to be opened 15 minutes before by the invigilator, but the economics paper was opened about 30-40 minutes earlier. Following which Tauqeer, one of the accused forwarded the paper to the students. 

2) Delhi Police arrests one coaching centre owner and two teachers regarding paper-leak episode: ANI reported on Sunday three people - one coaching centre owner and two teachers - were arrested in Delhi's Bawana in connection to the alleged paper-leak. 

The accused were identified as Rishabh and Rohit, teachers at a private school, and Touqeer, a tutor at a coaching centre in Bawana, reported Press Trust of India.

Touqeer had allegedly leaked the economics paper half an hour before the exam and sent it to the teachers on WhatsApp, the police said.

Those questioned, including tutors and students, had revealed that they got the papers from someone else, an official privy to the probe told PTI.

There is nothing to indicate that money was charged for sharing these papers, he said.

3) Delhi Police sends teams to schools, exam centres and residences of students: The Delhi Police on Saturday sent three teams to schools, exam centres and their houses in outer Delhi to investigate the Class X and XII paper leaks, according to ANI. 

More than 60 people have been questioned till now, out of which 10 are tutors of coaching centres. Moreover, about 50 mobile phones of students and tutors have been seized, reported ANI.

According to Police, e-mail address details have been received from Google and that the person who sent the mail has been identified and inquiry is on. A total of 53 students and 7 teachers have been questioned so far, ANI reported.

Moreover, police also increased the search for the whistleblower in the CBSE paper leaks, who, on three occasions, alerted the education board about it.

4) Google sends reply to Delhi Police: According to an official privy to the development, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch has got a reply from Google on the details it had sought pertaining to the e-mail address from where the CBSE chairperson was sent a mail about the Class 10 mathematics paper being leaked.

The official, however, refused to divulge further details.

The mail also contained 12 images of the handwritten mathematics paper allegedly leaked on WhatsApp.

5) Three Delhi Police teams sent to schools and students' homes: Continuing its investigation into the CBSE paper leak, the Delhi Police has sent three teams to schools, exam centres, and residences of students in outer Delhi. Further, more than 50 cell phones of students and tutors have been seized till now, news agencies reported today.  

Over 60 questioned over CBSE paper leak: The Delhi Police has questioned over 60 people, including the administrators of over 10 WhatsApp groups on which the leaked question papers were shared.

The WhatsApp groups mostly comprise students and tutors and some of them had common members, the official said.

"If we are able to establish the link of any of these WhatsApp group members with those connected to officials related to the examination process, we might question the latter as we have got their details from the board," the official added.

All those questioned, including tutors and students, have revealed that they got the papers from someone else. There is nothing to indicate that money was charged for sharing these papers, an official privy to the probe said.

Meanwhile, six students were detained in Chatra district of Jharkhand in connection with the leak of Class 10 mathematics and Class 12 economics papers. 

6) Students protest at Parliament Street over CBSE leaks: Affected students, along with SSC and NEET aspirants, today protested at Parliament Street over the CBSE paper leak, news agencies reported. 

7) Students to take Class 10 CBSE maths re-test only if the leak is large-scale: Clearing the air over the possibility of class 10 CBSE re-examination in Delhi and Haryana, Javadekar stated that a re-test would be conducted only if the police investigation points to a large-scale leak.      

7) Students protest at CBSE office over paper leaks today: A group of students today staged a demonstration near the CBSE office at Preet Vihar in New Delhi against the leak of Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers. "The students tried to block the road in front of the CBSE office, but we kept them away. A group of about 25-30 students are protesting outside the CBSE office," said a senior Delhi Police officer.  

8) Class 12 economics exam on 25 April, Class 10 maths likely in July: Anil Swarup, Secretary School Education in Union Human Resources Development Ministry, said the CBSE Class 10 mathematics question paper was leaked only in Delhi and Haryana as there was no evidence that it was a pan-India affair. "The leak was restricted to Delhi and Haryana, if at all a re-exam will happen, it will happen only in these states in July. A decision will be taken on this in the next 15 days," Swarup said on Friday. He said the Class 12 economics re-exam will be held on April 25.

On the decision to hold Class 12 economics re-examination, Anil Swarup said, "As I mentioned earlier, children have to go to the University to seek admission... they have to appear in various examinations. Most importantly, there is no time for a detailed inquiry (on) where exactly the leak happened." 

"Our immediate concern of the children who have suffered and this decision is in that context. We will nail the person who did this," Anil Swarup added.

"For Class 10 Maths, the examination will take place if it is found that the leaks had been in Delhi and Haryana. The decision will be only for Delhi and Haryana... for rest of the states, no re-examination will happen," Anil Swarup said.

Need help with CBSE exams? Read this: Answers to six key questions related to CBSE exams you might not know  
 

9) Why CBSE didn’t cancel the maths exam after tip-off: Anil Swarup said that although the mail had come at 1:29 am on March 28, it was only seen at 8:55 am, therefore, stopping the exam that was scheduled to commence at 10 am was not feasible. 

"Putting the children at an inconvenience at some fellow's message who might be playing a trick... we could not have done that," Anil Swarup said, according to media reports. 

"The mail came at 1.29 am on March 28 (early Wednesday) but the mail was seen at 8.55 am by the CBSE chairman. The paper was sent for verification. Just because there was an alert, we couldn't have stopped the exam," said Anil Swarup.

"This is not a perfect solution, in such a case there is no perfect solution possible. But we tried our best to limit the damage as much as possible. The information is limited and we are yet to ascertain what went wrong. Thus in such a situation, this decision was the best alternative we had," added Anil Swarup. 

Read our coverage on how the CBSE paper leak protests began and what the students are demanding: CBSE paper leak: Students protest in Delhi, want re-exam for all subjects 

10) Student moves SC against Maths re-exam: Rohan Mathew, a Class 10 CBSE student, on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the decision of the CBSE to cancel and re-conduct the Mathematics exam held on March 28 over the question paper leak.

Mathew sought the apex court's direction to the education board to publish results on the basis of already held examination.

He also sought setting up of a special high-powered committee to conduct a detailed investigation into the case. 

The All India Parents Association had said on Friday that it would file a petition in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a court-monitored probe into the matter.

"The leaks have rocked the confidence of parents and students. Question is now being raised over the examination system being followed," president of the association and lawyer Ashok Agarwal said.

No confusion now over CBSE re-test, says Javdekar: Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said the announcements made by his ministry on Friday should clear all confusion regarding the re-test of the CBSE Class 10 maths and Class 12 Economics papers.

Clearing the confusion as to students of which states would give the Class 10 mathematics re-exam, Javadekar said, “Class-X students from J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Northeastern states, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andaman, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh will not give the CBSE maths re-test."  

Launching the final round of the Smart India Hackathon-2018 (software edition) at New Delhi Institute of Management, he appealed to the students to "come out with the solution for making examinations leak proof", an official statement said. 

Opposition attacks Modi govt: The Opposition stepped up its attack on the government over the CBSE paper leaks, with the Congress accusing the government of sheltering the "exam mafia" that it claimed has taken over the examination system of the country.

The Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the issue and asked why he has not apologised for the paper leaks.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Modi would now write a sequel to his book "Exam Warriors" to teach students and parents stress relief, once their lives are "destroyed due to leaked exam papers".

The CPI-M also expressed concern over the paper leak and alleged the entire institutional mechanism dealing with education was under threat in the country. 

With agency inputs