A four-member team of the Crime Branch on Friday began investigation into the leakage of Plus-Two physics question paper. Led by a DSP-ranked officer, the team held meetings with the top brass of the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) to understand the examination system.
The Crime Branch will go into the entire process of question paper preparation, printing, despatch and the security measures against leakage or theft. While it will bring under the investigation ambit the Odia news daily which published the physics question paper, possible rivalry of private science colleges will also be under its scanner.
A case has been registered under Section 9 of the Odisha Conduct of Examination Rules 2005.
The report of the CHSE, according to CB sources, is that the question paper was “leaked” which conveys the impression that it was the handiwork of insiders. “The council’s report could be correct or incorrect, but we need to look into the whole process to start the probe process,” sources said.
There are a number of theories that have been floating following the leakage of physics paper and the subsequent rescheduling of chemistry paper. While one quarter attributes it to the internal squabbling in the CHSE and attempts to disgrace the current Controller of Examination, another says officials who previously held key positions in the council have now reportedly taken up advisory roles in private colleges which may have made access to the question papers easy.
In fact, the role of private colleges have come under scanner once again after the incident. Three years ago, the State Government had a difficult time explaining why the top positions in the Plus-Two Science examination were grabbed by a private college and the Crime Branch was handed over the probe a year later.
The CB probe, however, found the allegations untrue on the basis of a fresh evaluation of the toppers belonging to the private college. “Since the investigation was entrusted to CB a year later, tracking down the source was difficult. So, we got it verified by another set of evaluators,” said sources in the Crime Branch.
The Crime Branch requested the CHSE to constitute a group of evaluators which re-checked the answershseets of the toppers. Most of the scores were close to what the students had secured, with a variation of one or two marks which could be attributed to standard human error.
The CB then checked with the examination centre at Ravenshaw College were mass cheating was not possible. The invigilators were quizzed too. Following completion of the investigation, the final report was submitted to the court.