Assam govt. dismisses reports of another paper leak as geography questions go viral on social media

The purported first page of the geography question paper started doing rounds on social media, particularly WhatsApp, since around 11 a.m., leading to panic among the aspirants.

The Assam government on Saturday dismissed reports of a fresh question paper leak, claiming attempts were made to "disrupt the entire environment" after purported photographs of a geography paper went viral on social media.

Two instances of question paper leak of class 10 exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, (SEBA) have come to light earlier this week, leading to the cancellation of both tests.

The purported first page of the geography question paper started doing rounds on social media, particularly WhatsApp, since around 11 a.m. on Saturday, leading to panic among the aspirants.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Education Minister Ranoj Pegu quickly dismissed the purported leak of geography paper, the exam for which is scheduled on Monday, maintaining it was an "attempt to disrupt the entire atmosphere".

However, Mr. Pegu claimed that the geography question paper of 2021 was edited and circulated on social media, leading to confusion among examinees as no class 10 board exam was held that year due to the raging COVID pandemic.

Denying any leak of geography question paper, the CM tweeted, "It appears that certain groups of people are attempting to disrupt the entire atmosphere by fabricating false leaks of the High School Leaving Certificate exam papers." "@assampolice will investigate the matter to ascertain the identities of the groups and take appropriate actions," he added.

Mr. Pegu also maintained that no question paper was leaked.