Answer scripts of Assam Class 10 board exams gutted in fire

About 600 answer scripts of the Class 10 matriculation exam conducted by the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA) were destroyed in a fire at a school in Jorhat town, prompting the government to order a CID probe into the matter.

The incident has evoked statewide protests by student organisations, matric examinees and their parents and the public at large even as SEBA said the affected students may be required to write the test again in only one subject within this month. Results of the Board exams would be declared as per schedule for awarding of the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC), it added.

As irate crowds gheraoed the SEBA office in Guwahati and took out processions and burnt effigies in protest, a senior Jorhat district official said the fire which was discovered this morning was the handiwork of miscreants.