Bihar: 42,000 Class-10 answer sheets seized from scrap dealer
Bihar Police on Saturday seized 42,000 answer sheets of Class-10 students, which had mysteriously gone missing from a government-run school, and arrested a scrap dealer. The shopkeeper revealed the school's peon Chotu Singh had sold him the answer sheets of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) for Rs. 8,500 last week. Two people have been arrested in this connection. Here's more about the raid.
Answer sheets go missing a day before results from 'safe-house'
The answer sheets went missing from SS Balika Inter School in Gopalganj on June 19, just a day before results of BSEB were set to be declared. They were kept in a room after checking for the filing of results. The school authorities registered a complaint and the principal was detained for interrogation. Reportedly, 17.7 lakh students appeared for the matriculation examination this year.
Peon led scrap dealer into school one night, sold papers
Preliminary investigation revealed the school's peon led the scrap dealer into the premises one night. The scrap dealer exited the school with bundles of the answer sheets. When officials visited the school to cross-check papers of students who could have topped the examination, they were in for a shock. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the matter.
The big question is: When will results be declared?
After the missing papers, the board announced the results will be announced on June 26, but it is now unclear if that will be possible or not. The police are investigating if the peon acted on someone else's orders. Earlier, a red-faced Education Minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma claimed it was a ploy to malign the Nitish Kumar government.
Bihar-boards and results: The affair is both funny and depressing
Once again, the BSEB was left embarrassed this year when students of Class-12 scored more than the maximum marks. Some got scores in subjects they didn't appear for. In 2016, a massive education scam was unearthed after Class-12 'topper' Ruby Rai failed to answer basic academic questions. Taking cognizance of the missing answer sheets, the Patna HC has sought a report from the government.
