A fresh set of Madhyamik answer scripts of physical science has gone missing in the city, less than two months before the results are scheduled to be announced.

There were four other instances this year of Madhyamik scripts going missing from the examiners’ possession.

The state board of secondary education has refused to specify when and how the last set was lost.

“We have recovered the scripts on three occasions. But a number of scripts of physical science that were lost from Muchipara and another place in the city are yet to be recovered,” said a board official.

On March 5, a retired schoolteacher who has been appointed an examiner in physical science reported to police that a youth had snatched from him a packet containing 41 scripts on Surya Sen Street, in the Muchipara police station area.

The three other places from where the scripts went missing are Garden Reach, Singur and Malda.

The loss of the scripts and the delay in tracing them has put the board in a fix, as the Madhyamik results will have to be declared by May.

“We are in touch with the police. The lost scripts could not be traced till this evening,” board secretary Swapan Sarkar said on Tuesday.

“We are expecting a final report from the police next week. Once the report comes, the board’s examination committee will decide how to assess the affected students,” he added.

The issue of the loss of Madhyamik answer scripts was raised in the Assembly last month. School education minister Partha Dey had announced that the government had asked the board to finalise a procedure for assessing the examinees whose scripts are missing. The board has also been directed to ensure there is no delay in the declaration of the results.

Records show that Madhyamik scripts were lost in previous years, too, but they were almost always recovered within a few days.

“Usually, when the answer scripts of a few students are lost, we call the examinees to the board office and give them certain options for assessment. Marks are awarded on the basis of the option the students take,” said a senior official of the secondary education board.

He, however, refused to elaborate on the options.