Itahari, March 17:

Police resorted to firing in the air to disperse an unruly mob at an examination centre here.

A police personnel was injured when guardians of the students sitting for the SLC examination clashed with the police at Mahendra Higher Secondary School examination centre at Mahendranagar in Sunsari today.

The clash occurred when the police tried to prevent the guardians from throwing out cheats at their wards writing the paper, DSP Rupam Lama said.

The guardians pelted stones on the police personnel injuring constable Niraj Kumar Shrestha. Meanwhile, the district education office Sunsari has launched an investigation into the claim that central examiner Shyam Dev Meheta leaked the question paper just 10 minutes after the examination began, district education officer Dipak Kafle said.

For the first time, 112 students from ‘Open School’ — 38 boys and 74 girls — from Rautahat, Sunsari, Kailali, Kaski and Banke districts are also appearing in the SLC exams. These students prepared for the exams through different means, such as radio, television and newspapers.

Two Pakistanis studying at the Embassy of Pakistan in Kathmandu also appeared in the exams. The Pakistani students will not have to sit for the Nepali paper tomorrow.