NEET UG result row: Bihar police say evidence found suggests paper leak

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) in the Indian state of Bihar, which is probing allegations that the paper of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was leaked ahead of the exams held on May 5 said they found evidence that suggests that some students knew the questions before they appeared for the examination, according tomedia reports, on Sunday (Jun 16).

What did the police find?

Media reports citing officials from the EOU said 13 people, including four students, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the alleged leak and some have also been accused of receiving the question papers ahead of the test.

Additional Director General of Police, EOU, N H Khan told the Indian Express, that they had asked a set of questions to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which organises the NEET exam, and while they might have some follow-ups to their questions, their investigation is “very much suggestive of a paper leak.”

A report by Times of India, citing EOU Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Manavjeet Singh Dhillon said that they recovered a list of the 13 people from a “safe house” located on the outskirts of Patna.

The police alsobelieve that around 30 medical aspirants had reportedly been summoned by people they described as the “exam mafia” to receive questions and answers ahead of the exam.

Dhillon claimed that four arrested candidates had “confessed” during interrogation that the questions were identical to those they had received at the “safe house” on May 4, according to TOI.

Education minister denies allegations of paper leak

In light of the media reports and nationwide protests bystudents, Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on Friday (Jun 14) said issues were witnessed in six of the over 4,700 centres where the exam was conducted, but otherwise, NEET was conducted satisfactorily across the country.

He also went on to deny the allegations of corruption in NTA and that the paper was leaked, but added that if anything is proven, “no one will be spared”. Pradhan said that they are looking into every aspect and those responsible for the lapses will be held accountable.

The NEET exam was held on May 5 in 4,750 centres across India and around 2,400,000 candidates took it. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced 10 days earlier since the evaluation of the answer sheets was completed earlier.

The results sparked outrage and protests amid alleged irregularities after as many as 67 students scored a perfect 720. Since then students across India are demanding a re-examination.

(With inputs from agencies)