The West Bengal government will take all possible steps to find out those involved in the alleged misappropriation of funds allocated for purchasing tablets for class 11 and 12 students, Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Tuesday.

An association of state-run and state-aided school heads in West Bengal had on Sunday demanded a thorough probe into alleged misappropriation of Rs 10,000 sent by the state government to eligible students' bank accounts for purchasing the gadgets for educational purposes.

They raised the demand following reports that the amount had not reached the accounts of many higher secondary students in Malda, Purba Bardhaman and Purba Medinipur districts.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme, Basu said the state government has "zero tolerance" for any misappropriation of funds, and at least two arrests have already been made in this regard.

"Not a single person involved in this dishonest act will be spared. If there has been any hacking into personal details of students, the culprits will be identified," he said.

A school department official said over 149 cases of funds for purchasing tablets not reaching beneficiaries have been reported in Malda, while 88 such cases were reported in Purba Bardhaman and 64 in Purba Medinipur.

Basu said the department has taken up with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for chalking out a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent any hacking of individual account of a student.

The Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses (ASFHM) on Sunday urged the state's school education department to conduct a proper probe, particularly from cybercrime perspective.

In a letter to the principal secretary of the school education department, ASFHM raised concerns over reports that the Rs 10,000 allocated for purchasing tablets for class 11 and 12 students had not reached the intended recipients.

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