Maharashtra: Bhandara police gives clean chit to NU in abandoned answersheets case

NAGPUR: Bhandara police, who were conducting an inquiry into the answersheets found along NH-6 highway on January 11, have given a clean chit to Nagpur University in the matter. The inquiry report was handed over to special nodal officer A Deshmukh, who was summoned from Mantralaya in Mumbai to Bhandara on Friday to conduct a probe into the incident.
The ministry of higher and technical education is now contemplating setting up of new standard operating procedure (SOP) and policies of answer sheet disposal to avoid such a controversy, it’s learnt.
University authorities had verified the 379 answersheets from the 2019 winter examinations to ascertain whether their results were out, and had found them to be suitable for disposal as per the ordnance and regulations governing such activities, before an e-tender was floated, inviting the highest bidder. The answersheets become eligible for disposal after 90 days of the results being declared, as per the university ordnance.
It’s now learnt that a high-level decision has been taken to ensure that a forensic audit of the entire episode would be conducted by experts from the regional forensic science laboratory (RFSL), who had also visited the Bhandara police station. The university authorities have constituted a four-member committee to probe into the incident, that will shortly meet and submit its report too.
Senior inspector of Bhandara city police station Lokesh Kanse said the university had submitted the details and documents of the tendering and auctioning procedure before the answersheets were handed over to the vendor, who was taking it for disposal or recycling at Raipur.
“Technically the answersheets were already disposed of, after completing due formalities. As on today, their value is nil. The results were also declared. After speaking to the university officials concerned and verifying all facts, we have given a clean chit to the university,” Kanse said. “The answer-sheets had fallen off a truck on January 10,” he added.
It’s learnt that the university has asked the vendor concerned Devendra Dhage to conduct searches in Bhandara and the adjoining localities for three days to ascertain whether more answersheets are to be seized. “The role of the vendor is under scanner now as he did not report the loss of the answersheets immediately to the police and university officials,” said a highly-placed source in the university.
Pravin Udapure, a senate member who had raised the issue, said the answersheets were ferried in a negligent manner by the vendor, who also took long to report the matter to police. “There was every chance the answersheets and their blank pages could be misused,” he said.
Bhandara police had started the inquiry after getting a complaint from Dhage on January 23, 13 days after he had lost them. Dhage had won the contract to dispose of the answer sheet.