NEET row: Education Ministry seeks report from Bihar police over paper lead claims

Education Ministry sought a report from the Economic Offenses Unit of the Bihar police regarding the alleged paper leak in NEET UG 2024.

Published on: Jun 19, 2024, 23:14:53 IST

By HT News Desk

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Amid the public outrage over NEET examination this year, the Union Education Ministry on Wednesday sought a report from the Bihar Police's Economic Offenses Unit over the alleged paper leak this year.

Students stage a protest against the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination results and demand re-examination (File Photo)

Bihar Police has been asked to submit a detailed report regarding alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) 2024 in Patna, officials told PTI on Wednesday.

This comes days after the Bihar Police recovered post-dated cheques suspected to have been issued in favour of a mafia which had demanded over ₹30 lakh from each candidate seeking the alleged leaked question paper ahead of the NEET examination.

There have been allegations of question paper leaks in Bihar and other irregularities in the prestigious exam. The allegations have led to protests in several cities and the filing of petitions in several high courts as well as the Supreme Court.

A senior official from the education ministry said, “Regarding certain irregularities alleged in the conduct of the examination in Patna, a detailed report has been sought from the Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police. The government will take further action on receipt of this report.”

“The government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students. It is reiterated that any individual or organisation found involved in this matter will face the strictest action,” he added.

A massive outrage was sparked after the National Testing Agency (NTA) awarded grace marks to hundreds of students in the NEET-UG 2024 exam in several selected centres. Around 67 students reportedly topped the exam, as opposed to just two toppers last year.

After attacks by the opposition and a public outcry, the Centre and the NTA on June 13 told the Supreme Court that they had cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates, who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses.

The candidates will have the option to either take a retest or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for the loss of time, the Centre had said.

NEET-UG 2024 examination was conducted across the country on May 5 across 4,750 centres. The results were announced 10 days before the designated date because the evaluation of the papers was complete.

(With inputs from PTI)

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