The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam — National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test-UG — held on May 5, following a complaint from the Education Ministry. It is taking steps to take over probes/FIRs of other States in the matter.
Giving top priority to the case, the CBI has formed special teams that are en route to Godhra and Patna, where cases of question paper leaks have been registered by police
The CBI had already registered three cases to probe alleged irregularities in NEET exams conducted in 2018, 2021 and 2022 by NTA and this is the fourth FIR , registered on June 23, to probe allegations of irregularities in 2024 NEET exam against unidentified persons on a reference from the Union Education Ministry. Police in Bihar's Nawada arrested four persons in connection with alleged attack on CBI team probing UGC-NET leak case, said officials.
Facing flak over alleged discrepancies in competitive exams, the Centre on Saturday shunted out National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Subodh Singh and handed over the probe into irregularities in medical entrance exam NEET-UG to the CBI to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes, and middlemen, including attempted irregularities.
There were allegations of irregularities, including cheating, impersonation and other malpractices after the results of the NEET-UG 2024 was declared on June 4 — days before schedule. Student protests have been raging across the country since, amplified by the Opposition, and the matter has snowballed into a huge political row.
The students have been demanding the exam be rescheduled for everyone and not the 1,500-odd students who received grace marks. This, however, has not been accepted by the Government and the re-test for 1,563 candidates, who had initially received grace marks, held on Sunday. As many as 813 of the 1,563 candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks in NEET-UG appeared for a retest on Sunday, officials said. The allegations in the FIR state that the NEET(UG) 2024 examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on 5th May 2024 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.
The complaint further alleges that certain isolated incidents occurred in a few States during the conduct of the NEET(UG) 2024 examination.
“For transparency in the examination process, the ministry of education, after a review, has decided to entrust the matter to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation,” it said in a statement. The Ministry has also requested CBI for investigation into the role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination and also into the entire gamut of events and the larger conspiracy.
The Bihar Police has been investigating a NEET-UG paper leak matter since last month and has even arrested over a dozen persons. Subsequently, Gujarat police arrested half a dozen individuals, including the head of a coaching centre in connection with alleged cheating at an examination centre for NEET-UG in Godhra.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) detained two teachers who run a private coaching centre in Latur district in connection with the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG.
Ten aspirants have approached the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the CBI and the ED to investigate the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG.The petition has also sought a direction to the Bihar Police to expedite the investigation in the case and file a report before the apex court.
In a separate matter, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Center, the NTA and others on various petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored investigation.The Supreme Court also halted proceedings on similar petitions in various high courts.
Alongside NEET-UG, three other exams—UGC NET, CSIR-UGC NET, and NEET-PG—have also faced controversy. The UGC NET was cancelled by the Centre a day after the exam, while the CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG exams have been postponed. To combat exam malpractice, the central government has notified the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. This act aims to prevent unfair practices in public examinations and address related issues. Additionally, the ministry of education has constituted a high-level committee of experts chaired by K Radhakrishnan, former chairman of ISRO, to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations.
Meanwhile, officials of the NTA said its website and all its other web portals are fully secure, and reports that these have been compromised and hacked are wrong and misleading. The clarification comes amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including the NEET-UG and the UGC-NET. The education ministry on Saturday set up a panel to review the NTA's functioning, recommend exam reforms and ensure data security.
