Fake paper triggers leak rumours ... WBBSE lodged a complaint with the cyber crime department, requesting it to investigate

TT, Salt Lake: A fake Madhyamik life science question paper circulating on WhatsApp hours before the exam on Tuesday triggered a buzz that the paper had leaked.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education later lodged a complaint with the cyber crime department, requesting it to investigate how photographs of the fake paper started circulating just before the exam.

The board reported the matter to the home department and the chief secretary and sought an inquiry into the matter.

"The paper on WhatsApp was a model question paper the board had prepared in 2016 for the next year's exam," board administrator, Kalyanmoy Ganguly said.

"There were no similarities between the paper on WhatsApp and the question paper students had to answer on Tuesday," he said.

The life science exam was scheduled to start at noon. Around 10.30am several students and teachers in Birbhum, Bankura, Murshidabad and Calcutta claimed they had received the paper on WhatsApp.

Board officials immediately checked the photographs and concluded they were fake, Ganguly said.

"The fake question paper had created panic among examinees and guardians," Ganguly said. "It appears that someone or some people created mischief... they possibly wanted to disrupt the exam.

"More than one million students are taking Madhyamik this year. We have approached the authorities at all levels to investigate and arrest the culprits."

Some teachers, however, claimed a few questions in the WhatsApp paper and the actual life science question paper matched.

Ganguly rubbished the claims.

Headmaster notice

The board has issued a showcause notice to the headmaster of Moynaguri Subhasgram High School in Jalpaiguri district for breaking the seal of the math paper on Monday 40 minutes before the scheduled time.

According to board rules, the sealed question paper packets have to reach the venue at 10.30am on the exam days.

The institution heads are authorised to open the seals at 11.15am and start distributing the papers from 11.40am. Students can go through the paper till the exam starts at noon.

At Moynaguri Subhasgram High School, the headmaster is accused of opening a sealed packet at 10.35am and thereafter leaving the premises for a few minutes.

"The board will inquire into the matter," Ganguly said.