Pune: A case was registered on Tuesday against the operators of six channels on a video-sharing platform on the charge of circulating question papers of the periodic assessment test (PAT) III on social media before the examination was conducted.The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) conducts the exam for school students.An officer from the Vishrambaug police said that according to SCERT’s complaint, the PAT III exams are conducted to assess students’ academic abilities and their aptitude in subjects such as Marathi, English and mathematics. As per the schedule, the Marathi paper was to be held on April 11, mathematics on April 15 and English on April 22. The SCERT prepares the question papers, which are printed at a private press in Pune, before being confidentially distributed across districts in the state.He said it was found that question papers of all the three subjects had been circulated on six social media channels even before the exams were conducted.A case was registered under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act and the Information Technology Act.Inspector Arun Ghodke of the Vishrambaug police said, “We are investigating how the papers were leaked, whether money was involved and if more people are part of the racket.”Similar incidents of question paper leaks through social media channels had surfaced twice earlier. Action was taken against a teacher and a minor with a chargesheet filed in court.
