Amid public outrage over this year’s NEET examination, the Union Education Ministry on Wednesday requested a report from the Bihar Police’s Economic Offenses Unit regarding the alleged paper leak.
The Bihar Police have been asked to provide a detailed report on alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) 2024 conducted in Patna, officials informed PTI on Wednesday.
This request follows the Bihar Police’s recent recovery of post-dated cheques, suspected to have been issued to a mafia demanding over ₹30 lakh from each candidate for the alleged leaked question paper ahead of the NEET examination.
Allegations of question paper leaks and other irregularities in Bihar have led to protests in several cities and the filing of petitions in various high courts and the Supreme Court.
A senior education ministry official stated, “A detailed report on the alleged irregularities in the Patna examination has been requested from the Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police. The government will take further action upon receiving this report.”
“The government is committed to maintaining the integrity of examinations and protecting students’ interests. Any individual or organization found involved in this matter will face the strictest action,” he added.
A massive outcry erupted after the National Testing Agency (NTA) awarded grace marks to hundreds of students in the NEET-UG 2024 exam at selected centers. Approximately 67 students reportedly topped the exam, compared to just two last year.
Following criticism from the opposition and public backlash, the Centre and the NTA informed the Supreme Court on June 13 that they had revoked the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the exam for admission to MBBS and similar courses.
The candidates will have the option to either retake the test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded for the loss of time, according to the Centre.
The NEET-UG 2024 examination was conducted nationwide on May 5 across 4,750 centers. The results were announced 10 days before the scheduled date, as the paper evaluation was completed ahead of time.
