NEET paper leak: Accused got question paper night before exam, memorised answers
Patna: The controversy surrounding irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) has escalated as four arrested people admitted that the exam's question paper was leaked the night before the test, media reported.
Last week, student protests erupted nationwide over allegations of the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and the awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 candidates.
Although the grace marks were subsequently revoked, and the affected students were offered a re-test, the education minister denied any paper leak.
The four arrested men from Bihar include Anurag Yadav, an aspirant; his uncle Sikandar, a junior engineer at Danapur municipal council; and two others, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand.
They confessed about receiving the question paper the day before the exam and being told to memorize it. In a statement to the Bihar police, the arrested people revealed that the exact questions appeared on the exam the following day, reported NDTV.
Anurag Yadav, who was preparing for the exam in Kota's coaching hub, stated that his uncle summoned him back because he had planned to leak the paper.
"I was made to read and memorize it at night. When I went for the exam, I found the same questions which I had memorized correctly. After the exam, the police came and caught me, and I confessed my crime," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Sikandar alleged that Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand told him that they could leak the question papers of any competitive exam and an aspirant could access it for Rs 30-32 lakh.
"I agreed and told them I have four boys (who need help in passing the exam). On June 4 night, I took them with me and Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand gave them the question paper. Out of greed, I had also asked them for Rs 40 lakh each instead of Rs 30 lakh," he told the cops, according to NDTV.
He was nabbed with admit cards amid a vehicle check the next day and admitted his crime.
Approximately 24 lakh students took the NEET-UG 2024 for undergraduate medical courses on May 5.
However, the results, announced at least 10 days ahead of schedule, were overshadowed by allegations of a question paper leak and the awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 students.
The issue also became political, with Opposition parties accusing the government of rigging, paper leaks, and corruption.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserted that BJP-ruled states were the "epicentre of paper leaks."
Last week, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the allegations, adding that no proof of any rigging.
He accused the Opposition of lying persistently.
During a hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court slammed the National Testing Agency (NTA) while hearing a series of petitions regarding the suspected irregularities in the exam.
The court maintained that the NTA must guarantee fair treatment for all candidates.
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