Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Board Class 12 English examination has been postponed after the question paper went viral before the exam on Wednesday. The exam was to be held from 2 pm onwards. Uttar Pradesh minister in charge of secondary education Gulab Devi said, "It appears that the English question paper of Class 12 was leaked in Ballia. The matter is being looked into and strict action will be taken against the guilty."
Gulab Devi said the question paper that was leaked was distributed only in 24 districts where the exam has been cancelled. "In the remaining 51 districts, the English exam was underway." Additional Chief Secretary Avnish Awasthi ordered a Special Task Force inquiry on the paper leak case.
The police has taken the DIOS of Ballia Brijesh Mishra into custody and have arrested 17 suspects. A case has been registered against all of them in Ballia Kotwali Nagar Sikanderpur under section 420,66 BIT ACT.
Director of Secondary Education Vinay Kumar Pandey said that in Ballia district on Wednesday, information about the leak of question paper of Intermediate English subject series-316 ED and 316EI has come to the fore in the second shift. He said that except for these 24 districts, the examinations for the English subject of Intermediate of the second shift would be conducted in the remaining districts. The date of conducting the postponed examination in 24 districts will be announced soon.
ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar said that the government has engaged Special Task Force (STF) to investigate how the paper was leaked and in which district it was leaked. STF and police of all districts have started investigation in all aspects. Prashant Kumar has told that strict action will be taken against those who had leaked the paper.
District Magistrate Inder Vikram Singh has postponed the Intermediate English paper to be held on Wednesday.
(With agency inputs)
