<p>Drone-mounted surveillance cameras deployed by the authorities captured supervisors in 16 examination halls not only failing to prevent copying but also allegedly helping students cheat openly, he said.</p> — Drone-mounted surveillance cameras deployed by the authorities captured supervisors in 16 examination halls not only failing to prevent copying but also allegedly helping students cheat openly, he said.

Beed: A case has been registered against 17 teachers after a drone camera exposed large-scale copying during an HSC (Class 12) examination paper at a centre in Maharashtra’s Beed district, officials said on Thursday.

The mass cheating took place on Tuesday, the first day of the Class 12 exams conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, at Centre 224 in Chousala, an official said.

Drone-mounted surveillance cameras deployed by the authorities captured supervisors in 16 examination halls not only failing to prevent copying but also allegedly helping students cheat openly, he said.

The episode undermined the administration’s efforts to ensure a “copy-free” examination system, the official said.

After learning about the incident, Beed Collector Vivek Johnson ordered strict action against those responsible for the lapse.

Accordingly, an FIR was registered against 17 teachers, including the chief conductor of the exam centre, at Neknoor police station on Wednesday night. Charges under the Maharashtra Universities, Boards and Other Specified Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita have been applied in the FIR, he said.

The Class 12 exams are currently being conducted at 103 centres across Beed district, with 45,247 students appearing for the exams.

In neighbouring Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, a case of alleged mass copying was found during the HSC English exam paper on Tuesday, following which an FIR was registered against 23 persons, including the invigilators, police had said on Wednesday.>