VASAI: A bundle of 175 HSC board exam answer sheets was destroyed in a fire that broke out at a teacher’s house on the afternoon of March 10 (Monday). Although neighbors managed to douse the flames before the fire brigade arrived, many answer sheets were charred beyond recovery.
The affected papers were identified as belonging to commerce students who had appeared for the Organisation of Commerce and Management exam on February 15. The bundle had been kept on a sofa, which was completely reduced to ashes.
The teacher, employed at Utkarsh Vidyalaya and Junior College in Virar, had taken the papers home, which is against board regulations. Following the incident, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education registered an FIR against moderator Priya Rodrigues and junior college principal Mugdha Lele.
“When we arrived at the house on Nanbhat Road, Virar (W), the fire had already been brought under control by neighbors,” said an official from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation fire brigade. “We found burnt papers on the sofa and cleared the remaining smoke from the house,” he added.
Officers from Bolinj police station conducted a spot panchnama. Prakash Sawant, an officer at the station, stated that the examiner had already checked the answer sheets and recorded the marks, while moderator Rodrigues was supposed to re-evaluate them. However, the fire occurred when no one was home.
A case has been registered for disobedience to an order by a public servant and for loss/damage to public property. A board official from the Mumbai Divisional Office reiterated that moderators are strictly prohibited from carrying answer sheets home.
