Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that police have successfully cracked the HSLC (matric) general science paper leak case and there was “no escape route” for those involved.

During the Assembly session, Sarma said over the past two days those involved in the paper leak case have been identified.

The Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) cancelled the general science paper of the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exam, popularly known as matric, on Sunday following media reports that the paper had been leaked.

The examination, originally scheduled for Monday, will now be held on March 30.

The chief minister said: “As the chief minister, I want to humbly apprise the people of Assam that the matric paper leak should not have happened; somewhere it reflects our failure. I take full responsibility for the failure. I will advise SEBA (which conducts the Class X final exam) to take steps to become more proactive in the future to prevent a repeat.”

Sarma then added: “With regret, I also want to inform the House that a centre in-charge of a school and three-four teachers were involved in the leakage. Police have been identified. We have gathered evidence (against them)...”

Till Wednesday, the sleuths of the state CID, probing the case, have arrested 25 people, including 13 juveniles in conflict with the law.

Assam DGP G.P. Singh told the media on Thursday that the help of messaging platform WhatsApp was being sought to unearth the source of the question paper leak.

He said those involved should surrender at the earliest. Sources said the “handwritten” question paper was shared mostly over WhatsApp for anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 3,000.

Sarma further said: “ I was silent so that the police could work on the investigation...Over the past two days, after an intensive investigation, one of them (the accused) has been arrested and the remaining three teachers will be arrested soon... My message to those involved is that there is no escape route.”

Later in a tweet, he said the police have “successfully cracked” the case of the HSLCquestion paper leak. “Detailed information will be shared with all concerned once necessary arrests have been made,”he stated, tagging Singh and education minister Ranoj Pegu.