New Delhi: 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 retest was conducted at seven centres following an order from the Supreme Court. The grace marks were awarded to make up for the loss of time at six centres where the examination started late on May 5.
"At least 52 per cent -- 813 out of 1,563 candidates -- appeared for the retest on Sunday," a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official said. Amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, the NTA on Sunday debarred 17 candidates who had appeared for the exam on May 5 at centres in Bihar.
The agency had earlier debarred 63 candidates for adopting unfair means in the exam. On Saturday, 30 additional candidates from Gujarat's Godhara were also debarred.
Meanwhile, the CBI filed an FIR on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam on a reference from the Union education ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.
Officials said the ministry alleged in a complaint, now part of the FIR, to the agency that "certain isolated incidents" occurred in a few states during the conduct of the examination.
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, they said. The agency plans to take over the investigation of these cases registered by the police in Gujarat and Bihar, they added.
"Steps are being taken to take over cases registered by state police," an official said. The CBI action came a day after the ministry announced it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities to the central agency, a demand raised by a section of protesting students.
"The ministry of education has requested 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," a CBI spokesperson said. 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 will also be under the scanner, according to the officials.
