NEET aspirant dies under mysterious circumstances in Hamirpur, Investigation underway

Hamirpur: In an unfortunate incident, a NEET aspirant died under mysterious circumstances after falling from the 3rd floor of the building where he lived.

Speaking to PTI, the police officials said, "A student of a coaching institute in Hamirpur died under mysterious circumstances after falling from the third floor of the building where he lived. The incident took place on Sunday night."

The student belonged to the Hatwar area of Bilaspur district and was preparing for the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test for MBBS admission from a coaching institute in Hamirpur.

Hamirpur superintendent of police Bhagat Singh Thakur said the police have taken the body in its custody, adding that a case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

The student’s parents have alleged foul play and demanded a thorough investigation.

NEET Controversy

This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam came to light. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Meanwhile, during the case proceedings, NTA earlier decided to withdraw the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates and hold an optional retest for those candidates. Those who did not opt for the retest were allowed to retain their original marks, without the grace marks.

The matter was then nvestigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of investigating in the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

During the hearing of a batch of NEET pleas, the Supreme Court said that it did not cancel the UG medical entrance examination amid concerns of the paper leak because there was no systemic breach of its sanctity.