On Thursday, 20th June, Anurag Yadav, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) candidate from Bihar apprehended in connection with the result discrepancies, confirmed that the leaked question paper handed to him corresponded to the actual exam questions.
The 22-year-old Yadav, the nephew of an engineer stationed at Bihar’s Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad) submitted his confession letter to the police and said that his relative Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu had informed him that all exam arrangements had been accomplished.
Yadav additionally claimed to have received the leaked NEET test question paper and answers.
When he took the exam and received the actual question paper, it matched the one provided by his uncle, according to the student’s letter.
Yadav signed his confession letter. India Today reportedly accessed a confessional statement from Yadavendu as well as other documents exposing the alleged participation of a ‘Mantri Ji’, who allegedly proposed that Yadav, his mother, and other conspirators stay at a government house in Patna.
Meanwhile, the Union Education Ministry has demanded a report from the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit over alleged anomalies in the conduct of the NEET exam in Patna.
There have been reports of question paper leaks in places such as Bihar, as well as additional issues in the valued exam. The charges have sparked demonstrations in various locations, as well as petitions filed in several high courts also the Supreme Court.
The saga began on 4th June after the National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the results of the recently conducted NEET UG-24 exams.
A plea was filed against the NTA stating that grace marks were awarded to 1563 students who appeared for the NEET exam on May 5th. As per the plea, these grace marks aided some of the students to secure top ranks, also scoring 718 or 719 out of 720 which is technically impossible, given the negative marking system. Further around 67 students are said to have scored 720/720. The plea demanded a thorough investigation of the case, risking the futures of around 24 lakhs who appeared for the exam across 4750 centers in India.
Notably, on 13th June, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it had canceled the decision to award grace marks to 1563 candidates who appeared for NEET UG-2024. The Centre also said that these 1563 students had the option to appear for a re-test or go ahead without the grace marks, which will be held on 23 June.
Several petitions have been filed to the SC claiming paper leaks and a significant increase in high scores. The NTA had earlier stated that no papers were leaked.
“Regarding certain irregularities alleged in the conduct of the examination in Patna, a detailed report has been sought from the Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police. The government will take further action on receipt of this report,” a senior official of the ministry was quoted as saying by India Today.
“The government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protecting the interests of students. It is reiterated that any individual or organization found involved in this matter will face the strictest action,” the official added.