NEET 2024 paper leak row: NTA debars 17 students from Bihar, 30 from Gujarat

New Delhi: In another update on the ongoing NEET 2024 paper leak case, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has cracked the whip against more students as it debarred 17 from centres in Bihar and 30 candidates from Gujarat after detection of ''malpractices''. 

According to PTI, a total of 17 students, who gave the NEET-UG examination from centres in Bihar on May 5, have been debarred based on Bihar government’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) report.

A total of 63 candidates were debarred from all over the country over malpractices. Now 17 candidates from Bihar have been debarred for malpractices during the NEET examination. 30 candidates from centres in Godhra have been debarred, NTA said in a statement.

The CBI has currently taken over the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET UG following a reference from the Union education ministry.

With a section demanding the cancellation of the May 5 exam, the ministry officials reiterated the government's earlier stand that the incidents of malpractices were "localised" or "isolated" and it was not fair to jeopardise the careers of lakhs of candidates who cleared the exam rightfully, reports PTI.

Also Read:Breaking: CBI ordered to investigate NEET exam scandal

"Based on the inputs received 17 candidates who appeared from centres in Bihar were debarred. This takes the number of total candidates debarred from the exam this year to 110," an NTA official added, quotes PTI.

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.

Amid countrywide protests and litigation by aspirants, the CBI filed the FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in NEET-UG under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) among others.

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.

"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.

Meanwile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned two teachers who run a private coaching centre in Latur district in connection with the alleged irregularities.

The Centre had on Saturday night removed NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh and put him on "compulsory wait" till further orders.

"It notified the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, appointed a high powered committee to look at streamlining exam process and eliminating lose ends, sacks NTA DG, orders CBI probe in NEET (UG), besides postponing several exams, preempting possible compromises, to safeguard student interest," BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said.

The Union education ministry's high-level panel for suggesting exam reforms and reviewing functioning of the National Testing Agency will meet on Monday, sources said.

The ministry had on Saturday notified the 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 NTA.

On Sunday, the NTA also clarified that its website and all its other web portals are fully secure, and reports that these have been compromised and hacked are wrong and misleading.

"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 said.

The NEET-UG 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.

In an optional retest held for students whose grace marks were scrapped after the matter reached the Supreme Court, only 813 of the 1,563 such candidates appeared on Sunday. These candidates were awarded grace marks by the NTA to make up for the loss of time at six centres due to a delay in the start of the examination on May 5. There were allegations that it led to inflation of marks and contributed to six of the grace mark candidates from the same centre in Haryana scoring a perfect 720 marks along with 61 others.

"At least 52 per cent -- 813 out of 1,563 candidates -- appeared for the retest on Sunday. While no candidate appeared in Chandigarh, the number of candidates appearing from Chattisgarh (291), Gujarat (1), Haryana (287) and Meghalaya (234)," a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official said.

Over 13 lakh candidates out of around 25 lakh qualified the NEET-UG this year and they will compete for around 1.8 lakh MBBS/dental seats. Amid allegations of irregularities as well as "bunching of high scorers", the NTA stated that the top one lakh candidates are spread across 4,500 centres all over the country. Moreover, nearly two third of these are from rural or semi-rural areas, it stated.

The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.