The controversy around the NEET-UG exam continues nationwide, with medical students raising questions against the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the paper leak incident. They argue that while the Supreme Court has ordered re-examinations for the 1,563 candidates who were granted grace marks, the investigation by Bihar Police, which claimed that the NEET paper was leaked, remains unaddressed.
During the NEET exam on May 5, the Bihar Police arrested several individuals involved in the paper leak. The investigation revealed that around 35 candidates were provided with the NEET-UG questions and answers before the exam. However, no strict action has been taken, and the NTA has not provided a clear response.
Students claim there have been irregularities in the NEET exam from the start. They approached the Supreme Court regarding the paper leak, but the exam was not halted. Following the re-exam decision, student frustration has increased, accusing the NTA of covering up its mistakes and denying justice to 23 lakh students.
NTA's Silence
Bihar Police stated that it’s unclear if the papers they seized were indeed leaked as the NTA has not confirmed this. The investigation found that the paper came from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Sources suggest the leak occurred during transportation. Additionally, burnt copies of the leaked questions were found, but the NTA is yet to confirm this. Thirteen people, including candidates' relatives and brokers, have been arrested in connection with the leak. However, the NTA has not provided its report on the burnt 'leaked papers' recovered from Bihar to the police.
The first arrest in the paper leak case was that of one Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, based on inputs received by Bihar Police. The accused had positioned solvers at multiple centers and safe houses, with pre-obtained question papers. Junior engineer Yadavendu was arrested along with Akhilesh and Bittu during a routine check by Shastrinagar police at Rajvanshi Nagar. They had several NEET admit cards in their possession. Following leads from Yadavendu, Ayush, Amit and Nitish were arrested. Later, Sanjeev Singh from Nalanda was also arrested.
Bihar Police's investigation revealed that the gang contacted students through dubious educational consultancies and coaching centers. One of the accused, Amit Anand, ran an educational consultancy in Patna. The investigation uncovered that the question papers were collected from NTA's nodal points in various states and transported to local banks before being sent to exam centers. The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar discovered that employees involved in transporting the papers leaked them.
The EOU's investigation indicated that the same gang was involved in leaking questions from BPSC TRE 3.0 exams. They charged candidates between Rs 30 to 32 lakh, asking them to answer the questions at a safe house before escorting them to exam centers. According to Bihar Police, parents of two candidates, who were already in contact with the organizers, helped gather students at the safe house. These candidates paid less than others. The EOU believes they uncovered only one nexus where about a dozen operatives assisted five candidates.
