Guwahati (PTI): Investigations have revealed that the General Science question paper of class 10 state board examination in Assam were sold for up to Rs 3,000 on WhatsApp, Director-General of Police Gyanendra Pratap Singh said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Singh said WhatsApp's assistance was being sought to identify the origin of the leak of the question paper.

"The investigation has revealed that the question paper of the General Science examination were sold for anything between Rs 100 and Rs 3,000. We have found that somewhere it was sold for Rs 100, somewhere for Rs 200-300, and it went up to Rs 3,000. Assistance is being sought from WhatsApp to identify the origin of the leak," he said.

"I am happy with the investigation and the progress we made over the last three days. Hopefully, we will crack this case soon. We will send some more packets of the question paper from upper Assam to the CID headquarters for the purpose of the investigation," he added.

The General Science question paper of the class 10 matriculation exam conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) was leaked on Sunday night, and the exam scheduled on Monday was cancelled.

The state CID, which is investigating the case, has so far apprehended 25 people, including children, from various parts of Assam, besides interrogating several others to identify the source of the leak.

A senior official said the operations will continue till the mastermind is arrested.

"We have picked up some more people and are interrogating them," he said.

According to a SEBA notification, the cancelled examination will now be held on March 30.

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Bengaluru: Karnataka’s district judiciary is facing a significant shortage of judicial officers, with approximately 27.5% of positions across the state's district courts remaining vacant.

According to data cited by The Times of India on Tuesday, out of a total of 21,541 positions, 5,926 remain unfilled, leading to concerns about the efficiency of the state's justice system.

Bengaluru city is particularly affected, with 835 vacancies out of 2,510 sanctioned posts. Bengaluru Rural courts follow closely with 532 vacant positions from a total of 1,003 sanctioned roles. Mandya district shows an alarming vacancy rate, with 376 vacancies against 844 sanctioned positions.

Several other major districts are also grappling with alarming staffing deficits, including Mysuru (299 vacancies) Belagavi (345), Tumakuru (279), Dakshina Kannada (312), and Hassan (207).

Apart from vacancies of judicial officers, 243 of the 1,395 sanctioned posts for district judge, ad-hoc district judge, senior civil judge and civil judge remain vacant, the report added.

Legal experts have stressed that addressing the judicial vacancy crisis should be a priority for the state government to ensure the effective functioning of the justice delivery system. These staffing shortages may contribute significantly to case backlogs and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M.B. Patil, recently stated in the legislative assembly that efforts to fill the vacancies are underway. He cited a notification from February 2025, which will see 158 civil judge positions filled in the near future.