HRD Secretary Anil Swarup (File)
With pressure mounting over paper leaks, the HRD ministry on Sunday said a CBSE official has been suspended over “laxity” in supervising an examination centre in connection with the paper leak case and that a formal enquiry has been initiated in the matter.
The latest development comes hours after three persons, including teachers of a private school at Bawana in outer Delhi, were arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police for their suspected roles in the leak of Class 12 CBSE economics paper.
“On the direction of HRD Minister Prakash Javdekar to take swift action against culprits, the CBSE has suspended K.S. Rana, the official found lax in supervising examination centre 0859 with immediate effect. A formal inquiry has been instituted,” Anil Swarup, HRD Secretary, wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested two teachers and a tutor for their alleged role in the CBSE paper leak. The teachers, Rishab and Rohit, would break the sealed packet of papers an hour before the fixed time of examination and would WhatsApp it to Tauqeer, the police said. Tauqeer (also known as Taufeeq) who worked in a coaching centre would spread the paper among his students, Special Commissioner (Crime) officials added.
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The teachers were detained after their names cropped up while police were questioning Taufeeq. Taufeeq’s name had come up during interrogation of several students since Tuesday. “During the investigation, police came to know about one Tauqeer, who works with a coaching centre in Bawana,” police sources claimed, adding that he was detained on Friday night from Ghaziabad. The three accused have been sent to two-day police custody during which they would be questioned over the money trail and whether they have leaked other papers.
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The Delhi Police had registered two cases involving the paper leaks. The first case, related to the leak of Economics paper was lodged on March 27, while the other pertaining to the leak of Mathematics paper was lodged on March 28, following a complaint by the CBSE’s regional director. The government which announced a re-test for both the papers in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), said re-examination of Class XII Economics paper will be conducted on April 25. Class X Mathematics re-examination will be conducted in July if needed,