The NEET UG-2024 entrance exam results controversy continues as four arrested individuals admitted to leaking the medical entrance exam question paper the day before the exam.
Last week, students protested across the country due to allegations of a NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and the awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 aspirants. Despite the grace marks being revoked and a re-test offered to affected students, the education minister denied the paper leak.
The four arrested men in Bihar, including aspirant Anurag Yadav, junior engineer Sikandar Yadavendu from Danapur municipal council, and two others - Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand - made startling claims in a recently surfaced confession note.
During the investigation, they confessed that they had illicitly received the exam questions the day before and had been instructed to memorize them. In a statement to the Bihar cops, they said the exact questions were asked in the exam the next day.
Arrested NEET Student Confess To Bihar Police
Anurag Yadav, who is the nephew of Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, the engineer who was identified in connection to the incident, stated, "I was forced to read and memorize the questions the night before. When I sat for the exam, I was surprised to find the exact questions that I had memorized. After the exam, the police apprehended me, and I admitted to my actions."
Yadavendu alleged that the other two individuals involved, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, had offered to procure and supply the question papers for any competitive exam, including the NEET, for a fee of ₹ 30-32 lakh per candidate.
I agreed and informed them that I had four boys who needed assistance in passing their exams. On the night of June 4, I accompanied them, and Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand provided them with the question paper. Regrettably, I also asked them for ₹40 lakh each, surpassing the initially agreed ₹30 lakh," he confessed to the cops.
Subsequently, he was apprehended the following day during a vehicle check, where he was found with the students' admit cards and admitted to his involvement in the crime.
The NEET-UG 2024 exam for undergraduate medical courses, which took place on May 5, involved nearly 24 lakh students. However, the announcement of results, which occurred at least 10 days ahead of schedule, was met with allegations of a question paper leak and the awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 students.
The issue also took a political turn with Opposition parties targeting the government over alleged rigging, paper leak, and corruption. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had contended that BJP-ruled states were the "epicentre of paper leak".
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week rejected the allegations. Stating there was no evidence of any rigging, he accused the Opposition of spreading lies.
The Supreme Court, while hearing a batch of petitions over the alleged irregularities in the exam, on Tuesday came down heavily on the National Testing Agency and said it must ensure that all candidates are treated fairly.
