NEET-UG 'Paper Leak' Updates: Out of 1563, 750 Candidates Skip Retest

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police stepped up its investigation into the NEET 'paper leak' by arresting five more suspects on Sunday, a day after their detention in Jharkhand's Deoghar, taking the total number of those apprehended to 18. The development comes on a day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5 on a reference from the Union Education Ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

According to a statement by the EOU, the five arrested persons have been identified as Baldev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Panku Kumar, Rajeev Kumar and Paramjeet Singh, all hailing from Nalanda.

The High-Level panel formed by the Union Education Ministry to suggest exam reforms and review the functioning of the National Testing Agency will meet on Monday, June 24. Amid a row over irregularities in competitive exams, the Education Ministry on June 22 notified a seven-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"In an expedited action, the panel will have its first meeting tomorrow (Monday). The committee is slated to submit its report within two months. The reforms recommended will be implemented by the next exam cycle. The panel will also look into the exam calendar and make suggestions," a source from the Education Minister told news agency PTI.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has said an inquiry is underway on various aspects of the alleged paper leak in the NEET exam and the guilty will be jailed. The Economic Offences Unit of Bihar Police in May 2023 arrested 13 people, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, in connection with the alleged paper leak in the NEET-UG 2024 exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The Bihar Police had also detained six people from Jharkhand's Deoghar district in connection with the case. "An inquiry is underway. Who are the people involved in this? How did they commit irregularities? All will be jailed after filing FIR," Choudhary told reporters in Gwalior when asked about the progress of the investigation.

Several candidates and parents who arrived at exam centres for NEET-PG scheduled for Sunday were unaware that it had been postponed and rued allegations of irregularities plaguing exams conducted by the National Testing Agency and asserted it was adding to their already heightened stress and tension.

"We came to Nanded after covering a distance of 150 kilometres to reach our daughter's NEET-PG exam centre. Only after reaching there, we came to know it had been postponed. This is so stressful for my daughter as well as for us," Sunita Narwade, headmistress of a government-aided school in Beed district, told PTI.

"The postponement of NEET-PG has left me depressed. I was eager to appear since I was preparing for it for months. The students of our country are feeling insecure and are losing faith in the exam system," said student Sakshi Shitole.

The Union Health Ministry had on Saturday said it was postponing NEET-PG as a "precautionary measure" in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams. The Union Ministry of Health said it was undertaking a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG entrance examination, conducted by NTA for medical students. The fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest, it said.

A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing alleged irregularities in the conduct of the UGC-NET examination was allegedly attacked by locals in Bihar's Nawada after which four persons were arrested by police on a complaint from the central agency. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when a team of CBI had gone to Kasiadeeh village in the area, officials said.

A mob gathered around the CBI vehicles and heckled the officers, they said, adding a call was made to the local police station which dispatched force from the Rajauli police station. An FIR was filed by the local police against the accused on charges of causing disruption in government work and assault, among others. The local police arrested four persons allegedly involved in the attack and they have been sent to judicial custody, they said.

Congress workers in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi on Sunday burnt an effigy of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in protest against alleged irregularities in NEET and sought his resignation. Led by Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur, the party workers gathered at the Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi and burnt the effigy amid slogans against the NDA government at the Centre.

Thakur told reporters, "We demand the resignation of the Union Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) and cancellation of NEET 2024." He lashed out at the Centre for cancelling many exams but not NEET-UG, alleging that this decision was influenced by BJP leaders. "They are not cancelling this examination because of the involvement of several BJP leaders," Thakur alleged.

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai has lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led government and the BJP over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. "...Yesterday they removed the Director General (of National Testing Agency), which proves that wrong has been done to the children. This is complete Hitlerism. These people have deliberately announced the NEET exam along with the Lok Sabha election results. If these results had come during the elections, it would have been difficult for them to get even 50 seats. Parents and children are completely sad and upset," Rai told news agency ANI.

Academics across the country urged the Narendra Modi-led government to uphold exam integrity. They also asserted that quick fixes will not help. Govind Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bangalore, said, "Overnight solutions are not possible in such complex cases. The government has already formed a high-level committee. Let's wait for all the inputs to come. We need to have patience," Rangarajan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of the National Education Technology Forum (NETF), said the decision to hand over all NTA cases to CBI has reposed confidence in the students. "The announcement of a high-powered committee with Dr Radhakrishnan as chairman and six other eminent academics is a timely corrective action to build trust amongst students. The Radhakrishnan committee shall pave the way for robust transparent zero error process of end-to-end examination system fixing accountability of every functionary and desired checks and balances creating confidence among students," added Sahasrabuddhe.

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, said there should not be a retest for the 24 lakh candidates who appeared for NEET. "It will be unfair to put everybody through the process. Retest should be at only those centres where things have gone wrong. Government is taking steps to ensure the integrity of the examination," he said.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday said that 813 of 1,563 candidates, who were awarded grace marks in NEET-UG, appeared for retest. The NTA also said that 17 NEET-UG candidates who appeared in the May 5 exam from centres in Bihar debarred following detection of malpractice. The retest was held across the country in designated centres from 2 PM to 5.20 PM.

Union Minister and West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday said that no one guilty in the case would be 'spared amid the allegations of irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-UG and UGC-NET exams 2024. "The National Testing Agency (NTA) chief has been replaced, an inquiry committee has been formed. No one will be spared," Majumdar told ANI in West Bengal's Balurghat.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, for their prompt response to our concerns regarding the NEET UG Examination controversies."We extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Education for transferring the investigation of the 'irregularities' in the NEET UG examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a thorough probe. We are also thankful to the Government for removing the Director General of the National Testing Agency," the IMA said in a media statement.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) website and all its other web portals are fully secure, and reports that these have been compromised and hacked are wrong and misleading, senior officials of the Union Education Ministry have said. 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 June 22 set up a panel to review the NTA's functioning, recommend exam reforms and ensure data security. "NTA website and all its web portals are fully secure. Any information that they have been compromised and hacked is wrong and misleading", a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The retest of the NEET-UG exam was held across different centres in the country on Sunday. The test started at 2 PM and concluded at 5.20 PM. The National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to release the number of students who appeared for the retest.

An exam centre in Chandigarh where all arrangements had been made, including the deployment of police and invigilators, for two students to take their NEET-UG retest on Sunday shut the gates after neither turned up. An official at St Joseph's Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh's Sector-44 told news agency PTI that the gates were to be closed at 1:30 pm. After neither student turned up for the retest, the authorities shut the gates. The re-exam is underway from 2 pm to 5:20 pm.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday claimed that youth of the country deserve an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and "justice" from the government. He lashed out at the Centre over the conduct of the NEET and other competitive exams. Taking a jibe at the government, he said "exam warrior" Modi waged a war on the future of the youth.

"First it was NEET UG (~23 lakh students), then UGC-NET (~9 lakh students). Then CSIR-NET was cancelled (~2 lakh students). NEET-PG (~2 lakh) was cancelled a night before the exam. The responsibility lies with Modi & his ministers. Our youth deserve an apology from the PM & justice from his govt," Owaisi said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar has said that the government has taken proactive steps to protect the interests of the students and to protect the integrity of the examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"We now have a new Director General to head the National Testing Agency. The government has also formed a high-level committee headed by Dr K.Radhakrishnan, who is a former chairman of ISRO. This committee consists of experts from different domains. People who are deeply involved with the conduct of the IIT entrance examinations and their reforms are present in this committee," M Jagadesh Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"This committee will provide recommendations in two ways - one is the restructuring of NTA and its functioning and then the entire gamut of the processes involved in the conduct of the examination and the data security protocols. All these issues will be looked at by this committee and they will provide the recommendations to ensure that these examinations are conducted fairly transparently and they have credibility," added the UGC Chairman.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has sought Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation amid a controversy around the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the wake of paper-leak allegations and cancellations of exams. In a statement issued in New Delhi, the CPI(M) politburo said it is "deeply anguished over the sinister developments which have engulfed the centralised all-India examination processes".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has said the cancellation of NEET-PG examination and the UGC-NET were not one-off events "but the final nails in the coffin of an incompetent and broken system of centralised selection." Stalin, whose party the DMK is opposed to NEET on grounds of social justice among others, called for joint efforts to ensure making school education the base for careers. "The cancellation of NEET-PG and UGC-NET, has thrown thousands of our doctors into "deep despair. "Let us not forget the fact that these happenings are not one-off events but the final nails in the coffin of an incompetent and broken system of centralised selection," he said in a post on 'X.'

"As this scam unravels, let us plan for a better future and join our hands for building a fair and equitable selection process for professional courses, ensuring the primacy of school education and making it the base for careers (and) restoring the rights of States to determine their selection process for professional courses," he said. All should join hands, "most importantly, for reinstalling hope and faith in the minds of our students and their families," the ruling DMK chief added.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. CBI officials said the agency is also taking steps to bring under its ambit cases registered in various states by police.

This comes a day after the Centre announced that the probe into the alleged irregularities in the test would be handed over to the CBI. The officials said the agency registered a fresh case against unidentified persons under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) among others on a reference from the Union education ministry.

The examination was held across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The ministry June 22 handed over the probe to the CBI, giving in to demands of students protesting in several cities for an investigation into alleged malpractices in the conduct of the examination.

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police stepped up its investigation into the NEET 'paper leak' by arresting five more suspects on Sunday, a day after their detention in Jharkhand's Deoghar, taking the total number of those apprehended to 18. The development comes on a day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5 on a reference from the Union Education Ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

According to a statement by the EOU, the five arrested persons have been identified as Baldev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Panku Kumar, Rajeev Kumar and Paramjeet Singh, all hailing from Nalanda.

The High-Level panel formed by the Union Education Ministry to suggest exam reforms and review the functioning of the National Testing Agency will meet on Monday, June 24. Amid a row over irregularities in competitive exams, the Education Ministry on June 22 notified a seven-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"In an expedited action, the panel will have its first meeting tomorrow (Monday). The committee is slated to submit its report within two months. The reforms recommended will be implemented by the next exam cycle. The panel will also look into the exam calendar and make suggestions," a source from the Education Minister told news agency PTI.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has said an inquiry is underway on various aspects of the alleged paper leak in the NEET exam and the guilty will be jailed. The Economic Offences Unit of Bihar Police in May 2023 arrested 13 people, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, in connection with the alleged paper leak in the NEET-UG 2024 exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The Bihar Police had also detained six people from Jharkhand's Deoghar district in connection with the case. "An inquiry is underway. Who are the people involved in this? How did they commit irregularities? All will be jailed after filing FIR," Choudhary told reporters in Gwalior when asked about the progress of the investigation.

Several candidates and parents who arrived at exam centres for NEET-PG scheduled for Sunday were unaware that it had been postponed and rued allegations of irregularities plaguing exams conducted by the National Testing Agency and asserted it was adding to their already heightened stress and tension.

"We came to Nanded after covering a distance of 150 kilometres to reach our daughter's NEET-PG exam centre. Only after reaching there, we came to know it had been postponed. This is so stressful for my daughter as well as for us," Sunita Narwade, headmistress of a government-aided school in Beed district, told PTI.

"The postponement of NEET-PG has left me depressed. I was eager to appear since I was preparing for it for months. The students of our country are feeling insecure and are losing faith in the exam system," said student Sakshi Shitole.

The Union Health Ministry had on Saturday said it was postponing NEET-PG as a "precautionary measure" in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams. The Union Ministry of Health said it was undertaking a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG entrance examination, conducted by NTA for medical students. The fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest, it said.

A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing alleged irregularities in the conduct of the UGC-NET examination was allegedly attacked by locals in Bihar's Nawada after which four persons were arrested by police on a complaint from the central agency. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when a team of CBI had gone to Kasiadeeh village in the area, officials said.

A mob gathered around the CBI vehicles and heckled the officers, they said, adding a call was made to the local police station which dispatched force from the Rajauli police station. An FIR was filed by the local police against the accused on charges of causing disruption in government work and assault, among others. The local police arrested four persons allegedly involved in the attack and they have been sent to judicial custody, they said.

Congress workers in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi on Sunday burnt an effigy of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in protest against alleged irregularities in NEET and sought his resignation. Led by Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur, the party workers gathered at the Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi and burnt the effigy amid slogans against the NDA government at the Centre.

Thakur told reporters, "We demand the resignation of the Union Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) and cancellation of NEET 2024." He lashed out at the Centre for cancelling many exams but not NEET-UG, alleging that this decision was influenced by BJP leaders. "They are not cancelling this examination because of the involvement of several BJP leaders," Thakur alleged.

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai has lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led government and the BJP over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. "...Yesterday they removed the Director General (of National Testing Agency), which proves that wrong has been done to the children. This is complete Hitlerism. These people have deliberately announced the NEET exam along with the Lok Sabha election results. If these results had come during the elections, it would have been difficult for them to get even 50 seats. Parents and children are completely sad and upset," Rai told news agency ANI.

Academics across the country urged the Narendra Modi-led government to uphold exam integrity. They also asserted that quick fixes will not help. Govind Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bangalore, said, "Overnight solutions are not possible in such complex cases. The government has already formed a high-level committee. Let's wait for all the inputs to come. We need to have patience," Rangarajan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of the National Education Technology Forum (NETF), said the decision to hand over all NTA cases to CBI has reposed confidence in the students. "The announcement of a high-powered committee with Dr Radhakrishnan as chairman and six other eminent academics is a timely corrective action to build trust amongst students. The Radhakrishnan committee shall pave the way for robust transparent zero error process of end-to-end examination system fixing accountability of every functionary and desired checks and balances creating confidence among students," added Sahasrabuddhe.

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, said there should not be a retest for the 24 lakh candidates who appeared for NEET. "It will be unfair to put everybody through the process. Retest should be at only those centres where things have gone wrong. Government is taking steps to ensure the integrity of the examination," he said.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday said that 813 of 1,563 candidates, who were awarded grace marks in NEET-UG, appeared for retest. The NTA also said that 17 NEET-UG candidates who appeared in the May 5 exam from centres in Bihar debarred following detection of malpractice. The retest was held across the country in designated centres from 2 PM to 5.20 PM.

Union Minister and West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday said that no one guilty in the case would be 'spared amid the allegations of irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-UG and UGC-NET exams 2024. "The National Testing Agency (NTA) chief has been replaced, an inquiry committee has been formed. No one will be spared," Majumdar told ANI in West Bengal's Balurghat.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, for their prompt response to our concerns regarding the NEET UG Examination controversies."We extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Education for transferring the investigation of the 'irregularities' in the NEET UG examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a thorough probe. We are also thankful to the Government for removing the Director General of the National Testing Agency," the IMA said in a media statement.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) website and all its other web portals are fully secure, and reports that these have been compromised and hacked are wrong and misleading, senior officials of the Union Education Ministry have said. 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 June 22 set up a panel to review the NTA's functioning, recommend exam reforms and ensure data security. "NTA website and all its web portals are fully secure. Any information that they have been compromised and hacked is wrong and misleading", a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The retest of the NEET-UG exam was held across different centres in the country on Sunday. The test started at 2 PM and concluded at 5.20 PM. The National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to release the number of students who appeared for the retest.

An exam centre in Chandigarh where all arrangements had been made, including the deployment of police and invigilators, for two students to take their NEET-UG retest on Sunday shut the gates after neither turned up. An official at St Joseph's Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh's Sector-44 told news agency PTI that the gates were to be closed at 1:30 pm. After neither student turned up for the retest, the authorities shut the gates. The re-exam is underway from 2 pm to 5:20 pm.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday claimed that youth of the country deserve an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and "justice" from the government. He lashed out at the Centre over the conduct of the NEET and other competitive exams. Taking a jibe at the government, he said "exam warrior" Modi waged a war on the future of the youth.

"First it was NEET UG (~23 lakh students), then UGC-NET (~9 lakh students). Then CSIR-NET was cancelled (~2 lakh students). NEET-PG (~2 lakh) was cancelled a night before the exam. The responsibility lies with Modi & his ministers. Our youth deserve an apology from the PM & justice from his govt," Owaisi said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar has said that the government has taken proactive steps to protect the interests of the students and to protect the integrity of the examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"We now have a new Director General to head the National Testing Agency. The government has also formed a high-level committee headed by Dr K.Radhakrishnan, who is a former chairman of ISRO. This committee consists of experts from different domains. People who are deeply involved with the conduct of the IIT entrance examinations and their reforms are present in this committee," M Jagadesh Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"This committee will provide recommendations in two ways - one is the restructuring of NTA and its functioning and then the entire gamut of the processes involved in the conduct of the examination and the data security protocols. All these issues will be looked at by this committee and they will provide the recommendations to ensure that these examinations are conducted fairly transparently and they have credibility," added the UGC Chairman.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has sought Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation amid a controversy around the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the wake of paper-leak allegations and cancellations of exams. In a statement issued in New Delhi, the CPI(M) politburo said it is "deeply anguished over the sinister developments which have engulfed the centralised all-India examination processes".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has said the cancellation of NEET-PG examination and the UGC-NET were not one-off events "but the final nails in the coffin of an incompetent and broken system of centralised selection." Stalin, whose party the DMK is opposed to NEET on grounds of social justice among others, called for joint efforts to ensure making school education the base for careers. "The cancellation of NEET-PG and UGC-NET, has thrown thousands of our doctors into "deep despair. "Let us not forget the fact that these happenings are not one-off events but the final nails in the coffin of an incompetent and broken system of centralised selection," he said in a post on 'X.'

"As this scam unravels, let us plan for a better future and join our hands for building a fair and equitable selection process for professional courses, ensuring the primacy of school education and making it the base for careers (and) restoring the rights of States to determine their selection process for professional courses," he said. All should join hands, "most importantly, for reinstalling hope and faith in the minds of our students and their families," the ruling DMK chief added.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. CBI officials said the agency is also taking steps to bring under its ambit cases registered in various states by police.

This comes a day after the Centre announced that the probe into the alleged irregularities in the test would be handed over to the CBI. The officials said the agency registered a fresh case against unidentified persons under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) among others on a reference from the Union education ministry.

The examination was held across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The ministry June 22 handed over the probe to the CBI, giving in to demands of students protesting in several cities for an investigation into alleged malpractices in the conduct of the examination.