West Bengal govt orders ban on internet services in various district during Madhyamik Exams to prevent paper leak

To prevent suspected unlawful activities during the Madhyamik examinations, and to stop question paper leaks on WhatsApp, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Sunday said mobile internet and broadband services will be temporarily suspended in the few blocks of Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum and Darjeeling districts between 11 am to 3:15 pm on Monday, March 7, to Wednesday, March 9.

The internet services in these areas will also remain suspended on March 11, March 12, and from March 14 to March 16.

From Monday, around 11.2 lakh Madhyamik examinees will appear in their offline examinations across 4,194 centres across the state.

The Trinamool Congress government said that no restriction is being imposed on voice calls and SMS and on newspapers, hence "communication and dissemination of knowledge and informatiori is not stopped in any way."