A total of 24 candidates have so far been disqualified from appearing in the Class-12 board examination in West Bengal as they entered the exam centre with mobile phones in violation of rules, a senior official said.

While seven students were disqualified on Friday, 17 others had earlier been barred from writing their papers, President of West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination, Chiranjib Bhattacharya, said in a statement.

“The steps were adopted to prevent any malpractices, including taking images of the question papers and circulating those...,” he told PTI.

“We have zero tolerance for such acts. The ones disqualified cannot sit for exams for one year,” Bhattacharya said.

To address concerns about test paper leaks, the council has introduced for the first time a unique serial number for each question paper, he said.

One person was arrested recently from Nadia district for “promising to share question papers in exchange of money”, another council official said.

An estimated 7,89,867 students are appearing for this year’s Class-12 board examination from February 16-29.

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