After Bihar, Probe Into NEET Paper Leak Reaches Maharashtra As Cops Quiz Many In Marathwada Region

Probe into the alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation, and malpractices reported in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) which was conducted on May 5 has branched out of Bihar and reached Maharashtra’s Marathwada region.

An Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) questioned several people, including teachers, in the Marathwada region regarding the scam on Sunday morning. According to sources, inputs from different parts of the country such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi led police to Maharashtra.

As the scope of the investigation has been widening, different agencies and teams have been probing the case.

STEPS TAKEN SO FAR

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.

The Education Ministry also set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the agency’s functioning and recommend exam reforms.

It postponed the NEET-PG entrance, the fourth entrance exam to be impacted in recent days.

India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola has been assigned additional charge of the NTA till the appointment of a regular incumbent.

The Union Health Ministry also announced the postponement of NEET-PG entrance, a night before the entrance exam, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams.

The move comes a day after the June edition of the Joint Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and UGC-NET was postponed. The Joint CSIR-UGC-NET is a test conducted to determine eligibility for junior research fellowship and assistant professor and admission to PhD in science courses.

The UGC-NET was cancelled on Wednesday, a day after it was conducted following inputs that the integrity of the exam was compromised. The matter is being probed by the CBI.

Bihar Police on Friday night detained six more people from Jharkhand’s Deoghar district in connection with the alleged leak of NEET paper in the state, an official said. Its Economic Offences Unit last month arrested 13 people, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, in connection with the alleged paper leak.

The EOU is also exploring the “possibility of conducting narco analysis and brain mapping tests” of the accused, sources said.

They also indicated that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) might investigate the money laundering aspect.

THE CONTROVERSY

The examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates appeared. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4.

As many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA’s history, with six from a centre in Haryana’s Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities.

There was also a controversy over grace marks awarded to students to make up for the loss of time at six centres. The Centre later told the apex court that the grace marks were being scrapped and these 1,563 students would be given an option of a retest.

The NTA will on Sunday conduct the retest for these students.