Question paper leaked & circulated in Whatsapp

Pune, May 25: The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) final examination question papers for two exams of second-year mechanical engineering course were found circulating on the WhatsApp of students at an exam center in Wagholi almost 45 minutes before the exams could begin.

The paper was sent to all exam centers in Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts through e-mail at 10 am, an hour before the scheduled time.

After receiving complaints from students as well as college authorities, SPPU officials tracked down the locations from where the papers had gone viral to the Sangamner and Akurdi exam centers. The officials managed to source the locations through the center codes, watermarks and server details of the papers.

After verifying server details, the officials filed a police case against the students at the Wagholi center.

Savitribai Phule Pune University vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar said, "While the police has seized the cellphones of the students, the university's administration has sent show cause notices to the exam centers from where the papers were downloaded on the phones and made viral."

From Thursday, the university will e-mail the question papers to exam centers only 20-25 minutes in advance.

SPPU vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar said, "We have instructed all officials to ask students to settle in the exam hall one hour before their paper begins."

As a precautionary measure, the two centers from where the question papers went viral would get their papers only 5-7 minutes before the start of the exam.