Only 813 of 1,563 candidates appear for NEET-UG retest; CBI takes over probe
New Delhi: Sunday witnessed a critical turn in the NEET-UG examination controversy as only 813 out of the 1,563 candidates awarded grace marks appeared for a retest across seven centres. This retest followed a Supreme Court directive after allegations surfaced regarding the allocation of grace marks due to delayed starts at six examination centres on May 5.
The issue of grace marks became contentious when it was alleged that they contributed to score inflation, notably allowing six candidates from a Haryana centre to achieve a perfect score of 720, alongside 61 others. The controversy prompted the Centre to inform the apex court that grace marks would be scrapped, offering affected candidates the option to retake the exam.
“In the retest conducted on Sunday, 813 candidates participated, representing 52% of those eligible. No candidates appeared in Chandigarh, while Chhattisgarh saw 291 candidates, Gujarat one, Haryana 287, and Meghalaya 234 taking the examination,” stated a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official.
Meanwhile, the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) intensified its probe into the NEET “paper leak” by apprehending five more suspects in Jharkhand’s Deoghar, bringing the total arrests to 18. The development comes on a day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR, following a reference from the Union education ministry, amid nationwide protests and legal challenges related to alleged paper leaks.
According to a statement by the EOU, the five arrested persons have been identified as Baldev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Panku Kumar, Rajeev Kumar and Paramjeet Singh, all hailing from Nalanda.
Baldev Kumar, associated with the notorious Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang, allegedly received the solved answer sheet of the NEET-UG exam in PDF format on his mobile phone a day before the exam. The statement implicated members of the Mukhiya gang, accused of orchestrating multiple interstate paper leaks, as the source of the leaked answer sheet.
Further details disclosed that the leaked question paper originated from a private school in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, and was distributed to aspirants at a safe house in Patna’s Ram Krishna Nagar. The involvement of bank officials and a courier company in mishandling question papers has also been under scrutiny. Rajeev Kumar, Panku Kumar and Paramjeet Singh were arrested for providing duplicate mobile SIMs, phones and accommodation to Baldev Kumar and his associates in Deoghar, the EOU said. Mukesh Kumar, a taxi driver, was also arrested for facilitating transport for the accused and aspirants within Patna.
The statement said 15 aspirants identified by the NTA were being scrutinised, with four already questioned, while the remainder are yet to appear for examination by investigators.
Meanwhile, the CBI has registered a criminal case to probe allegations of irregularities in the NEET-2024 examination. This development follows a complaint from the Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
The NTA conducted the NEET(UG) 2024 examination on May 5, 2024, across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 international locations. Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the exam. However, isolated incidents of irregularities were reported in a few states, prompting concerns over the integrity of the examination process.
The complaint details several serious allegations, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes, and middlemen. The Ministry of Education has asked the CBI to thoroughly investigate these allegations and the potential involvement of public servants in the misconduct.
In response to the Ministry’s request, the CBI has registered a criminal case and formed special teams to prioritise the investigation. Teams have been dispatched to Patna and Godhra, where local police have already registered cases related to the alleged irregularities. The CBI’s investigation aims to uncover the full extent of the misconduct and ensure accountability.
Additionally, the NTA on Sunday took stringent action by debarring 17 candidates from Bihar following the detection of “malpractices.” An NTA official disclosed: “Based on the inputs received, 17 candidates who appeared from centres in Bihar were debarred. This brings the total number of candidates debarred this year to 110.”
Earlier, the agency had barred 63 candidates for adopting unfair means, with an additional 30 candidates from Gujarat’s Godhara facing similar consequences on Saturday.
This year, over 13 lakh candidates out of approximately 25 lakh qualified for the NEET-UG, competing for around 1.8 lakh MBBS and dental seats. Amid concerns over irregularities and allegations of “bunching of high scorers,” the NTA confirmed that the top one lakh candidates are distributed across 4,500 centres nationwide, with nearly two-thirds of them originating from rural or semi-rural areas.
In a related development, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) interrogated two teachers from a private coaching centre in Latur district regarding alleged irregularities associated with the NEET-UG exam.
Responding to cybersecurity concerns, the NTA reassured the public on Sunday that its website and all affiliated portals remain fully secure. A senior official clarified: “NTA website and all its web portals are fully secure. Any reports suggesting compromise or hacking are incorrect and misleading.”
In an administrative move, the Centre removed NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh from his position on Saturday night, placing him on “compulsory wait” pending further directives. These actions reflect ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity and fairness of national-level entrance examinations.
