The Assam State Board has announced the cancellation of all Class 11 examinations scheduled from March 24 to 29. This decision affects 36 subjects and comes in light of multiple reports of question paper leaks, as stated by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu.

Previously, a leak of the Higher Secondary first-year Mathematics paper, which was set for March 21, prompted officials to cancel that exam and file a police report. The Class 11 examinations had commenced on March 6 and were originally slated to conclude on March 29.

Minister Pegu confirmed via a post on X that due to allegations of question paper leaks and breaches of protocol, the remaining exams for the Higher Secondary First Year Examination 2025 have been cancelled. He indicated that a board meeting on Monday, March 24, would determine the future course of action regarding the exam schedule.

In a follow-up post, Pegu detailed that the Mathematics paper leak was traced back to 18 schools—three of which were government institutions—that improperly opened the security seal a day prior to the exam. As a consequence, the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) has suspended the affiliations of 15 private schools across 10 districts for this violation, with further action pending against three more institutions for similar infractions.

Additionally, the state government intends to press charges against the implicated schools, which have been barred from enrolling Class 11 students for the 2025-26 academic year. Pegu noted that police complaints will be filed, following the ASSEB’s directives issued by Ranjan Kumar Das, the Controller of Examinations (in-charge). Reports indicated that some institutions unsealed the Mathematics exam packets on March 20, despite the exam scheduled for the afternoon of March 21.

The ASSEB order also raised concerns that the potential for leaks might extend to the remaining subjects, as these question papers remain in custody at various examination centers across the state. Consequently, the remaining exams from March 24 to March 29 have been officially cancelled.

Das further informed PTI that an FIR has been lodged at the CID Headquarters in Guwahati, with additional cases expected to be filed at local police stations regarding the involved educational institutions.

While acknowledging that not all centers may have contributed to the leaks, he assured that a thorough investigation would pinpoint the culprits responsible for the dissemination of leaked papers on social media. Previously, a similar incident led to the cancellation of the Class 9 English annual exam in Barpeta district after the question paper surfaced online.

A 20-year-old Dalit man, Sangam Lal Gautam, was allegedly attacked, abused with casteist slurs, and held hostage after his bike collided with another two-wheeler in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, earlier this month, police confirmed on Sunday.

The incident occurred on March 10 when Sangam Lal was riding his bike home to Handia and met with an accident near Berwa Paharpur, where Rishabh Pandey, who was reportedly driving in the wrong direction, collided with him, causing injuries.

Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik said that once the group came to know of Sangam Lal’s caste, Rishabh Pandey, his father Pawan Pandey, and 10 unidentified men began verbally abusing him with casteist slurs. They allegedly accused him of riding under the influence and physically assaulted him.

Following the attack, Sangam Lal was allegedly held hostage, with the accused demanding ₹20,000 for damage to their bike. He was able to inform his father, Narayan Das Gautam, after several hours, who then contacted the emergency services.

Police rescued the victim and admitted him to a community health centre for treatment. Acting on a complaint filed on March 22, a case has been registered at Koirauna police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The SP confirmed that an investigation is currently underway to identify and apprehend all those involved.

The Opposition has slammed sections of the media and the BJP for their handling of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, demanding an apology for the vilification of actor Rhea Chakraborty. The call for accountability comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a closure report, concluding that Rajput’s death was a suicide with no evidence of foul play or involvement by Chakraborty.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi took to social media to express her outrage, targeting news channels and anchors for their sensational coverage of the case. “The news channels and anchors that carried out their agenda using Sushant Singh Rajput’s unfortunate death should find chullu bhar pani to go drown in. Their credibility and conscience died long ago,” she posted on X.

In another post, Chaturvedi criticized those who doubted the Mumbai Police investigation and welcomed the intervention of the Bihar Police and CBI. “All those who doubted the Mumbai Police investigation on SSR and welcomed the Bihar Police team to cater to a bloodthirsty media, and then welcomed the CBI, should feel some remorse. The CBI closure report took 5 years but surely exposed agenda bearers,” she wrote.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also weighed in, accusing the BJP of using the case to defame its rivals. “BJP never leaves a stone unturned to defame their rivals. It has been proved that this was a suicide, but they repeatedly find ways to file petitions regarding this case. Someone’s family should never be dragged into politics and defamed,” Raut said.

Samajwadi Party leader Fakhrul Hasan Chaand refrained from commenting on the CBI’s findings but emphasized the importance of respecting legal processes. “The CBI is the biggest probe agency in the country. It has conducted its investigation but found nothing. Submitting the closure report is part of the legal process, and the Samajwadi Party doesn’t want to comment on it,” he said.

Social media outrage
The CBI’s closure report has sparked widespread reactions on social media, with many users demanding an apology for Rhea Chakraborty, who faced relentless media scrutiny and public backlash.

Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair called out actor Akshay Kumar, asking, “Hello Akshay Kumar, are you not going to tweet now that the CBI has concluded the investigation after more than 4 years and given a clean chit to Rhea Chakraborty?”

Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai criticized the media, stating, “Hate to say I told you so, BUT a large section of news media owes a HUGE apology to Rhea Chakraborty and her family. You destroyed a family for your shitty TRPs. And CBI, you should have filed the closure report years ago. Shame.”

Journalist Rohini Singh also called for accountability, asking, “Will Times Now, Republic, and India Today apologize to Rhea Chakraborty post the CBI closure report and the clean chit to her? If they have any shame, any shred of human decency, they should issue a grovelling apology for slandering her, telling outrageous lies, and getting her imprisoned only because they were determined to run an agenda.”

Social media users echoed these sentiments, with one user, Mohit Chauhan, stating, “We, as a nation, owe an apology to you, Rhea Chakraborty. The CBI has closed the Sushant Singh Rajput case and given a clean chit to Rhea as no evidence was found against her. Will godi media apologize to her for destroying her career for the sake of cheap TRP?”

Another user, Roshan Rai, added, “CBI files closure report in Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. Natural Suicide, No Foul Play involved. This country owes an apology to Rhea Chakraborty. The media launched a witch hunt against her, destroyed her dignity, made her a national villain, and abused her day in and out. She should sue everyone from Smita Prakash to Navika Kumar.”

Case background
Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14, 2020. The CBI took over the investigation from the Bihar Police, which had registered an abetment of suicide case based on a complaint filed by Rajput’s father, K.K. Singh. The CBI’s forensic team at AIIMS dismissed claims of poisoning or strangulation, concluding that the actor’s death was a suicide.

The closure report has now been submitted to a special court in Mumbai, which will decide whether to accept the findings or order further investigation.