Investigations have revealed that the General Science question paper of class 10 state board examination in Assam was sold for up to Rs 3,000 on WhatsApp, Director-General of Police Gyanendra Pratap Singh said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Singh said WhatsApp's assistance was being sought to identify the origin of the leak of the question paper.
"The investigation has revealed that the question paper of the General Science examination was sold for anything between Rs 100 and Rs 3,000. We have found that somewhere it was sold for Rs 100, somewhere for Rs 200-300, and it went up to Rs 3,000. Assistance is being sought from WhatsApp to identify the origin of the leak," he said.
"I am happy with the investigation and the progress we made over the last three days. Hopefully, we will crack this case soon. We will send some more packets of the question paper from upper Assam to the CID headquarters for the purpose of the investigation," he added.
Several students from various parts of Assam were on Wednesday brought to the CID headquarters here for questioning in connection with its investigation into the alleged leak of a question paper of the class 10 state board exam, an officer said.
The number of arrests in the case remains at three, he said. "We have detained students, teachers and others across Assam. They have been brought to Guwahati for further questioning," the CID officer said. He, however, refused to share any further details.
Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, talking to reporters said that the CID is investigating to get to the root of the paper leak.
"Some students and others have been arrested or detained so far. But we have to be patient and need to wait for the CID probe to be over to know from where the paper leak originated," Pegu said.
The opposition Congress held a demonstration at the Assembly gate before the start of the day’s proceedings, demanding clarity on whether the question paper was leaked or not.
"The government told us in the House that the examination was cancelled as some materials were on WhatsApp. They must clarify what had actually happened," Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia said.
The general science exam of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) for class 10 was cancelled late on Sunday night, following reports of the leakage of the question paper. According to a SEBA notification, the cancelled examination of general science will now be held on March 30.
Student bodies, youth organisations and political parties on Monday staged protests across Assam over the leak of the general science question paper. The Assam Police had registered a criminal case and handed over the investigation to the CID on Monday.
DGP Singh had on Tuesday said on Twitter that 22 people had been detained from Guwahati, North Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sadiya, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
Assam Police Spokesperson Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan later told PTI that three of those detained for questioning have been arrested for their alleged role in the paper leak case.
"They are all from the Government Deaf and Dumb School, Kahilipara in Guwahati. There were 42 packets of question papers meant for the school, but one was missing. This is a strong ground to arrest them," he said.
The arrested persons include the principal, a teacher and a casual employee of the school, Bhuyan, the Inspector General of Assam Police (Law and Order) said.
First Published: Mar 15, 2023 4:09 PM IST
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