Didn’t study well, feared of failing in exam, student accused of stealing SSC geography question papers tells cops

Kolhapur: The Std X student, who allegedly stole SSC geography question papers from the strongroom of Sangola Vidyamandir on Tuesday, told the Solapur police on Thursday that he committed the theft as he had not completed studying for the subject and feared failing the exam, costing him an academic year.The police seized two bundles containing 50 sets of geography question papers from the student's home, along with three blank answer sheets. He appeared for the exam on Wednesday at the same centre from where the papers had been stolen."We learnt that the boy was afraid of failing the exam. The boy told us that he was confident about the subjects he had already written but was unprepared for geography. He planned the theft in detail. We recovered the electric cutter he used to break open the locks and the electric bike he used to quietly reach the centre. He has been produced before the juvenile board for further action," inspector Vinod Ghuge of the Sangola police said.The police said the boy was an average student acdemically. "He did not circulate the stolen question paper to anyone. Geography was the last paper of the Std X board exams for the 2025-26 academic year," the police added.