Stolen geography question papers traced to SSC student from another school, 2 officials suspended along with constable & two home guards

Kolhapur: The Solapur police late on Tuesday night traced the theft of two bundles, each containing 25 sets of Std X geography question papers, from the strongroom of Sangola Vidyamandir in Solapur district to an SSC student, though the motive remains unclear. In a related development, two officials associated with the exam centre were suspended for dereliction of duty, along with a head constable and two home guards.The theft took place around 2am on Tuesday, when 50 sets of geography question papers were stolen from the strong room of the school. Despite the breach, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education decided to go ahead with the examination, which was the last paper of this year's board exams.According to inspector Vinod Ghuge pf the Sangola police, CCTV cameras at the exam centre were operational only during exam hours and remained switched off for the rest of the day. "Taking advantage of this, a student from another school broke into the strong room and used an electric cutter to force open the metal boxes containing the papers. His exact intention is not yet known. He even appeared for the last paper on Thursday. The student admitted to the theft in front of his parents," Ghuge said.The stolen papers, along with three blank answer sheets, have since been recovered from the student, the officer said.Once the theft came to light, police scanned CCTV footage from across the town and spotted the student's suspicious movements. All photocopy centres in the area were immediately shut to prevent duplication of the papers and social media was closely monitored to check whether any images of the paper had surfaced. With no leakage detected, the board allowed the exam to proceed as scheduled.A senior board official said an attempted theft had occurred a day earlier too, but the information was neither escalated nor did the centre staff enhance security. "This negligence paved the way for the successful theft the next day. Hence, disciplinary action was initiated," the official said.