Mumbai: The Borivali police have booked a coaching centre teacher for allegedly sending her 14-year-old student to appear as a dummy candidate for the annual competitive maths exam organised by Gorai's Mumbadevi Vidyaniketan school. Moreover, the accused, Divya Saraiya, even pretended to be the boy's mother.
The teen was caught after a supervisor became suspicious as he repeatedly took the question paper to the washroom. Interestingly, even after being nabbed, the boy apparently tried to mislead the principal by giving wrong contact details of his parents.
According to the FIR, the complainant, principal Vrinda Thakar, 52, is also a member of the mathematics teachers’ association, which annually conducts the mathematics proficiency examination for Classes 5, 7 and 8. This year, the test was scheduled on December 15 and 139 students appeared for it. During the exam, a supervisor became suspicious of the teen and found a phone upon frisking, after which the former informed Thakar.
The examination of the device revealed that the boy had been sending photographs of the question paper to a WhatsApp group, alleged Thakar, adding that the teen claimed he had sent the paper to his sister. When asked for his parents’ contact details, he provided incorrect numbers and refused to disclose his date of birth, while identifying his school as Education Hub, which is actually a coaching centre.
Thakar then took the boy to the Borivali police station, where he gave his 'mother’s' contact and Saraiya showed up after being called. She showed her Aadhaar card for identity verification, but gave an excuse to provide the boy's Aadhaar. Saraiya told the police that she would bring the teen's document the following day as her house was locked.
Police said that the boy finally spilled the beans and revealed his real name, which was different from the one on the hall ticket. He is Class 9 student of an international school in Malad, said the officials, adding that Saraiya had instructed him to appear for the exam using a false name. Saraiya, who teaches mathematics and english at Education Hub, was then questioned. The boy’s father told the officials that he was unaware about the ploy and that his son had left home on the exam day, saying he was going for coaching.
A case has been lodged against Saraiya for cheating and flouting the Information Technology Act.
CASE DETAILS
The 14-year-old repeatedly took the question paper to the washroom
This made the supervisor suspicious, alerting the principal
Even after being nabbed, the boy apparently gave wrong contact details of his parents
His father told the officials that he was unaware about the ploy
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