On the first day of the SSC exams, students sat in the exam hall as they waited for the paper to be distributed, no doubt hoping to use the last few moments to gather their wits. Instead, they were surprised to see local Yuva Sena leader Hemant Dudhwadkar saunter in with his phone, ostensibly to wish them luck. The politician thought nothing of breaking the rules and disturbing the students to take pictures with them on his camera phone, minutes before their exam.

Mobile phones are banned for both students and invigilators entering the Board examination centre, and no one but students and teachers can enter the exam halls. Just a couple of weeks ago, this paper had reported how an HSC candidate had thrown her mobile phone in the gutter outside the examination centre as she was not allowed to take it inside. But Yuva Sena's Hemant Dudhwadkar and his father Arun Dudhwadkar, Shiv Sena leader from Malabar Hill, seemed to think the rules don't apply to them.