The controversy around the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) has escalated after four arrested individuals admitted that the exam paper was leaked the night before the test.
This confession came amidst widespread student protests across the country over allegations of a NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and grace marks given to over 1,500 students.
The four arrested in Bihar are Anurag Yadav, a student, his uncle Sikandar, a junior engineer at Danapur municipal council, and two others, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand.
They confessed to getting the question paper the evening before the exam and memorizing it. They told the police that the same questions appeared in the exam the next day.
Anurag Yadav, who was preparing for the exam in Kota, was called back by his uncle, Sikandar, who planned to leak the paper. "I was told to read and memorize the paper overnight. The next day, during the exam, I saw the exact same questions. After the exam, the police caught me, and I confessed," Anurag said.
Sikandar said that Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand assured him they could leak any exam paper and that it would cost ₹30-32 lakh per student to pass NEET. "I agreed and told them I had four students who needed help. On the night of June 4, I took the students to Nitish and Amit, who gave them the exam paper. Out of greed, I asked for ₹40 lakh from each student instead of ₹30 lakh," Sikandar admitted to the police.
He was later caught with the students' admit cards during a vehicle check and confessed to his crime.
Nearly 2.4 million students took the NEET-UG 2024 exam for undergraduate medical courses on May 5.
However, the results, released about 10 days early, were marred by allegations of a paper leak and the awarding of grace marks to many students.
The issue quickly turned political, with opposition parties accusing the government of corruption and rigging the exams. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused BJP-ruled states of being the "epicenter of paper leaks."
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed these claims, saying there was no proof of tampering and accusing the opposition of spreading false information.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, while hearing petitions about the alleged exam issues, criticized the National Testing Agency (NTA). The court stressed that the NTA must ensure fair treatment for all candidates.
