Five cases of alleged malpractices in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar were taken over by the CBI, while two school teachers were arrested in Maharashtra on Monday. This comes even as a political storm intensified over the paper leak issue, with the opposition gearing up to confront the Centre in Parliament.
The five new cases were being investigated by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police arrested two zilla parishad school teachers from Latur and registered a case against four persons after it emerged that a racket was being operated to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the examination.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now probing a total of six cases in the matter. On June 22, amid protests and litigation, the central government removed National Testing Agency (NTA) director-general Subodh Singh and handed over the probe into irregularities in NEET-UG to the central probe agency.
According to CBI officials, the agency has re-registered one case each from Gujarat and Bihar, as well as three from Rajasthan as its own FIR. It is also likely to take up the Latur case, officials said. They added that barring the case from Bihar, the other four appear to be isolated incidents of impersonation and cheating by local officials, invigilators and candidates.
The economic offences unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police arrested five more persons on Sunday (June 23), taking the total arrests to 18.
What is the case in Maharashtra?
Police said in Maharashtra’s Latur, it has emerged that a racket was being operated to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the exam. The Nanded ATS unit booked four persons, including two zilla parishad school teachers, a Nanded resident and another man from Delhi.
Teachers Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Khan Umar Khan Pathan were both arrested. The two others, identified as Iranna Mashnaji Kongalwav from Nanded and Gangadhar from Delhi, are on the run. The case against them was registered under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
Jadhav was nabbed on Monday night while Pathan was arrested late on Sunday (June 23). “ATS officials had received a tip-off that some suspects were running an illegal racket to help NEET students pass the exam in exchange for money,” stated a release issued by the office of the Latur DSP.
Police further said suspicious information regarding the NEET 2024 exam was found in the mobile phone of one of the arrested accused. They said Jadhav and Pathan, who is the headmaster of a ZP school in Latur district, run a private coaching centre.
What is happening at the NTA?
Pradeep Singh Kharola took the additional charge of the NTA on Monday and held meetings with officials of the testing body. The education ministry, which has set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the NTA’s functioning and recommend exam reforms, was slated to meet Monday evening.
Pradhan had said this will be the first of a series of steps to improve the efficiency of the exam process, put an end to possible malpractices, strengthen data security protocols as well as overhaul and reform the NTA.
The Centre on Monday also made public the rules under the recently notified anti-paper leak law, mandating the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to prepare norms, standards and guidelines for the computer-based tests among others.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Rules, 2024, have provisions for “engagement of services of other government agencies by public examination authority”, “preparations of norms, standards and guidelines” and “reporting of incidents of unfair means or offences” among others.
What are the latest political updates in the paper leak issue?
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider abolishing NEET, which was introduced in 2013. She said it will be better to revert to the system of states conducting the exam and called for strong action against those involved in the alleged irregularities.
Several opposition MPs said on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha that the Centre will have to answer on the issue in Parliament as it is causing hardship to lakhs of students. As Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan proceeded to take oath in Lok Sabha, members of the opposition shouted ‘NEET, NEET’.
The Centre has drawn much flak over the paper leak issue. “I strongly urge upon you to consider and take immediate steps to restore the previous system of conducting this examination by the state governments and abolish the NEET examination. This will help restore normalcy and confidence of the aspirant students in the system,” Banerjee said in her letter.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai said addressing the NEET-UG row requires more than arresting some individuals and claimed the involvement of a broader network in the case. “The entire reputation has been tarnished because of NEET. Simply arresting one or two officers will not resolve the issue. There is an extensive racket at work,” alleged Desai, who is the Mumbai South Central MP.
Days after Bihar deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha alleged that a prime accused in the case is linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, RJD MP Manoj Jha claimed proximity between those named for paper leaks and leaders of the JD(U) and BJP.
While the medical entrance exam question paper was allegedly leaked, as per an investigation by the Bihar Police, UGC-NET was cancelled a day after it was conducted following input that the exam’s integrity had been compromised. Both matters are now being investigated by the CBI.
Two other exams – NEET-PG and CSIR-UGC NET – have been cancelled amid the exams row. The Congress-affiliated NSUI, meanwhile, held a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Ahead of their planned march to Parliament, police barricaded the area and over two dozen students, some of them NSUI members, were detained.
(With PTI inputs)
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