Demand for strong action after arrests in Bihar in NEET UG 2024 paper leak case

Following speculations over the alleged question paper leak on May 5 when the NEET UG exam was held, several aspirants on social media demanded re-examination to get a fair chance. The allegations led to multiple arrests in Bihar, Delhi, and Rajasthan largely for impersonations. National Testing Agency (NTA), the exam conducting body has denied the claims of paper leak, but the experts demand a thorough investigation into the matter. According to a TOI report, the question papers of NEET-UG and their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the NEET exam. This came days after the arrest of 13 people, including four examinees and their parents. Candidates from different places in Bihar were brought to a rented accommodation at Ramkrishna Nagar in Patna, where they were provided with the question papers and answers.

 

Talking to Education Times, Subodh Kumar Singh, director general, NTA says, “Several candidates were caught by the state police after getting a tip-off from their sources. Several candidates were caught cheating inside the examination hall by the exam centre superintendents. The Unfair Means Committee constituted by NTA will debar these candidates from the current exam as well as future exams. NTA is also continuously receiving reports from various exam functionaries and other authorities, but we have not received any strong evidence of an alleged paper leak.”

 

With the help of AI-based technological tools, CCTVs and surveillance inside the exam centre, we have identified students carrying earbuds, mobile phones or chits. NTA will take action against such students, Singh adds.

 

While the arrested impersonators have claimed that they received question papers a night earlier to the NEET exam, Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, former Bihar state president, Indian Medical Association (IMA) told Education Times, “There have been claims of impersonation, for which arrests have been made by state police of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and more. The arrested candidates have also claimed that they received a set of important questions from people allegedly part of the ‘solver gang’. The gang members would mug the answer and sit for the exams.”

 

Dr Prasad says NTA was quick in brushing aside the claims of paper leak. “It should have allowed a proper inquiry instead of issuing a statement denying the paper leak within the next 24 hours of the exam day. The process of investigation is currently on, several arrests have been made and some are still underway. Other than that, there have been many instances of paper leaks earlier and there are still chances the same happening this year as well,” adds Dr Prasad.

 

NTA’s statement can be an attempt to pacify the NEET aspirants, parents, and other stakeholders, says Dr Amar Nath Yadav, state chairman, FAIMA Bihar Chapter and National coordinator of IMC Bihar. “There are speculations of alleged paper leak, however, investigation agencies are still probing into the cases of several impersonations. It is wrong to confirm anything yet, but the statements of arrested exam solvers indicate a strong possibility of involvement of an organised solver gang behind this paper leaks.” Attempts to leak the exam papers just before the exam are not new in this country. There is a need for proper investigation, especially in Bihar as most of the arrests of impersonations have been made in the state this time,” he adds. 

 

Furthermore, the Patna police had received a tip-off about the suspected paper leak about a couple of hours before the exam. One of the main conspirators Sikander Yadavendu (56) and his driver Bittu Kumar (38), a resident of Rohtas district, were arrested from the Shastri Nagar police station area, and the aspirants and their parents were held after the exam. “When the police team raided his rented flat, they recovered some burned question papers, which are being verified by the investigation team. Three others – Roshan Kumar, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand – were arrested from the flat with laptops and mobile phones,” the officer said, stated the TOI report.