In Bihar, the Patna Police have uncovered evidence suggesting a question paper leak in the pre-medical entrance exam. Similarly, the Gujarat Police arrested five individuals for alleged malpractice during the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) held on May 5 in Panchmahal district's Godhra, as reported by The Hindu on Friday.
Despite these findings, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated on Thursday that no concrete evidence had been found to support claims of a question paper leak or other irregularities in the NEET exam, which is administered by the National Testing Agency for undergraduate medical course admissions.
In Godhra, Gujarat, the police are investigating alleged malpractices at the Jay Jalaram School examination center. According to the first information report, students, their parents, and a Vadodara-based coaching center run by teachers were involved in the irregularities. The Hindu reported that students who paid money were instructed to leave certain questions unanswered, which were to be filled in later by the teachers. This scheme was disrupted during a May 5 raid by an education department inspection squad.
Key individuals arrested include Tushar Bhatt, the deputy at the examination center, education consultant Vibhor Anand, school principal Purshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based immigration agency owner Parashuram Roy, and Arif Vora. The Hindu noted that four students paid Rs 66 lakh each to the coaching center, while three others gave blank cheques.
In Bihar, on May 5, the Patna Police received reports of irregularities at multiple NEET exam centers. A Special Investigation Team from the state police’s Economic Offences Unit took over the investigation. They seized admit cards, post-dated cheques, and certificates from members of an inter-state gang, arresting thirteen individuals, including four NEET candidates and their parents.
According to Additional Director-General of Police NH Khan, the team received a set of questions from the National Testing Agency and are investigating how the leaked question paper and answers reached the examination centers. This suggests a paper leak. The Special Investigation Team is gathering corroborative evidence.
The NEET results, announced on June 4, led to allegations of inflated marks with 67 candidates securing top ranks, including six from the same exam center. Some reports claimed a question paper leak before the exam. The National Testing Agency denied these allegations, attributing the results to a revised physics answer key and compensatory marks for lost writing time.
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions on alleged question paper leaks, arbitrary grace marks, and other exam irregularities. On Friday, it issued notices to the Centre and the National Testing Agency, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the allegations.