Leaked NEET-UG paper matched exam paper: Candidate's confession
Anurag Yadav, a 22-year-old National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) candidate from Bihar who has been arrested in connection with the result irregularities, confessed that the leaked question paper handed to him matched the actual exam question paper. In a confession letter, Yadav admitted that he had received a leaked copy of the exam paper from his relative Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, a junior engineer at Danapur Municipal Council in Patna.
2 other students arrested
The student added, "I was made to read and memorize it at night. When I went to give the exam, I found the same questions in the exam." Two other arrested students, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, also claimed that they received the question paper a day before their exam and were made to memorize it. Anand, who is believed to be the mastermind of the leak, told cops that the question papers were sold to students in lakhs.
Papers sold for ₹30-32 lakhs
"I told Sikandar that I can leak the paper of any competitive exam...Sikandar then told me that he had 4-5 candidates who are preparing for NEET...I told him that it would cost ₹30-32 lakh. Sikandar agreed," Anand said. These charges were also confirmed by Sikandar himself. "On June 4 night, I took them (candidates) with me and Kumar and Anand gave them the question paper. Out of greed, I had also asked for ₹ 40 lakh," he told the cops.
Ministry promises strict action amid NEET irregularities
In light of the allegations, a senior official from the Union Education Ministry stated that they have sought a detailed report from Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit. The official emphasized that "the government will take further action on receipt of this report." They added that any individual or organization found involved would face strict action to ensure examination sanctity and protect student interests.
Protests and petitions emerge following NEET scandal
The allegations of irregularities in the NEET exam have sparked protests in several cities across India. The examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centers nationwide with approximately 24 lakh candidates participating. The results were announced on June 4, ten days earlier than initially expected due to early completion of answer sheet evaluation. When the results were announced, a staggering 67 students had achieved the perfect score of 720 marks.
Now, UGC-NET paper cancelled
Separately, on Wednesday night, the Ministry of Education (MoE) announced the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET). This decision came just a day after over 9 lakh candidates appeared for it across 317 cities. According to reports, this came after inputs from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that "the integrity of the examination may have been compromised."
