'Govt will investigate paper leaks, guilty will be punished', assures President Murmu over NEET row
New Delhi: In her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu spoke on the raging row over NEET 2024 across the country.
The government is fully committed to investigating the recent incidents of paper leaks and ensure that the guilty are punished, President Droupadi Murmu said, as quoted by PTI.
Addressing the 18th Lok Sabha for the first time, the president said her government is working to create an environment to enable youth of the country dream big and achieve them.
As she mentioned steps taken by the government on the education front, some opposition members were heard shouting "NEET."
"If due to any reason there is obstruction in examinations it is not appropriate. Sanctity, transparency are a must in government recruitments and examinations," she said.
"The government is committed to conduct fair investigation and ensure the most stringent punishment to those guilty in the recent incidents of paper leak," she said, reports PTI.
There were incidents of paper leaks in some states earlier as well, the president said, stressing that there is need to rise above partisan politics and take strong steps at the national level.
The president added that Parliament has also made a strong law against paper leaks.
She added that the government is working to bring reforms in the examination process.
CBI is currently investigating the allegations of paper leak in the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Medical Dialogues has been reporting about the NEET UG 2024 paper leak controversies. The allegations of paper leak first came to light in Bihar. 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.
Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of investigation in the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities / cheating / impersonation / malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," the Ministry of Education stated in a release.
The CBI is currently planning to seek the custody of all 18 accused for interrogation. Currently all the accused- including 13 from Patna and 5 from Jharkhand- are in judicial custody. While investigating the case, earlier the Economic Offences Wing (EOU) had arrested these individuals. However, later the case was handed over to CBI on Monday.
Also Read: No Urgency: Supreme Court declines to Implead CBI, ED in NEET Paper Leak Case
