NEET Paper Leak 2024: Arrests, investigations, demands for re-exam; story so far

NEW DELHI: The biggest medical entrance exam in India, the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2024, has become a national sensation with all the arrests, investigations, and students’ demands for justice following the alleged paper leak.

Reports of cheating and use of unfair means in NEET UG 2204 are also emerging from different parts of the country. In Bihar, which recently saw another paper leak, 13 persons have been arrested till date including students and their families in connection with the NEET paper leak case, and the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has taken the matter in its hands now. These people allegedly provided NEET UG 2024 question papers and answers to 35 medical aspirants before the exam which was held on May 5 by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

All this while NTA debunked claims of paper leak in NEET 2024 as ‘baseless’ and ‘without any ground’ when such reports took social media by storm. The chaos sourced back to the incident wherein some of the examinees who were handed the wrong question paper of NEET UG exam 2024 at a Rajasthan centre left the exam hall along with the question paper and leaked it on X (formerly Twitter). As per NTA, the test was already underway at the other centres when the incident occurred and a re-exam was conducted for all such candidates.

However, the commotion started a day before the entrance exam when a video of a masked man claiming that the paper may get leaked by the ‘mastermind’ went viral on social media prompting aspirants and others to urge NTA for an investigation. The same video was circulating online in April as well.

Also read ‘Leak-Ed’: Repeated paper leaks in board, competitive exams turn lakhs of dreams to dust

NEET UG 2024: Malpractice, cheating cases

Three people in Gujarat’s Godhra district, including a school teacher who was on duty at one of the NEET UG 2024 centres, are facing criminal charges for their alleged involvement in trying to aid six NEET aspirants in solving the question paper in exchange with Rs 10 lakh from each candidate. The police also seized Rs 7 lakh paid to the teacher in advance by one of the examinees.

The Odisha Police recently arrested three persons for allegedly cheating at an exam centre.