Bihar NEET Paper Leak:
The nation continues to witness upheaval surrounding the NEET examinations. Medical students are still raising questions about the legitimacy of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) actions. They argue that while the Supreme Court has indeed ordered a re-examination for 1,563 candidates, what about the investigation led by Bihar Police that pointed to a paper leak?
On May 5th, during the NEET examination, Bihar Police arrested several individuals linked to a paper leak. Subsequent investigations revealed that, prior to the exam on May 5th, almost 35 candidates had access to NEET-UG papers and answers. Yet, despite this discovery, no firm action has been taken, nor has the NTA provided any clarification.
Students claim that irregularities existed from the start of the NEET exam process. They even approached the Supreme Court about the paper leak but failed to halt the exams. Student outrage has only escalated following the decision to conduct a re-examination, accusing the NTA of covering up its mistakes and thereby failing to deliver justice to around 23 million students.
NTA Yet to Provide Clear Answers Regarding the Paper Leak
Bihar Police have stated that it is not clear whether the papers recovered were leaked, as the NTA has provided no response. During the investigation, it was discovered that the papers might have come from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to Bihar. Sources suggest that the leak occurred during transportation. Furthermore, burnt exam papers were found, but the NTA has neither confirmed nor denied their significance. Thirteen individuals have been arrested in connection to the paper leak, including candidates' relatives and brokers. Bihar police hold confessions from numerous suspects; however, the NTA has yet to share a report on the recovered burnt 'leaked papers'.
Those Arrested by Bihar Police
The initial arrest was made of an individual named Sikandar, following inputs received by Bihar Police. Suspects had allegedly placed paper solvers at several centers and safe houses. Upon intelligence shared by Yadavendu, Bihar police conducted raids and arrested Ayush, Amit, and Nitish. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Sanjeev Singh from Nalanda.
Are NTA Employees Involved in the Paper Leak?
The investigation revealed that the arrested suspects had reached out to students via shady educational consultancies and coaching centers. One, Amit Anand, operated an educational consultancy in Patna. It was discovered that the papers were collected from NTA nodal centers and sent to local banks before being distributed to exam centers. Bihar's Economic Offences Unit suspects employees from these agencies compromised the papers during transit.
Millions Paid for Leaking Papers
Investigations indicate that this is the same syndicate involved in leaking papers related to the BPSC TRE 3.0 exam. Payments ranged from 30 to 32 million rupees per paper, candidates were instructed to prepare the answers in safe houses before being escorted to exam centers. According to Bihar Police, parents of two candidates were particularly involved in organizing the candidates at safe houses pre-exam. Such candidates typically paid less compared to others. The Economic Offences Unit has identified one nexus involving about a dozen individuals assisting approximately five candidates.
Confessions Recorded by Police
Shiv Sena spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi has voiced concern, highlighting the need for the NTA to provide answers. The Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's defense of the NTA and dismissal of the leak as nonsensical stands in stark contrast to the findings of the investigation. It's as if he's negating Bihar Police's work. With numerous confessions of advance paper leaks recorded by Bihar Police, and 12 arrests made, the question remains: Why did the NTA proceed with the results release despite being informed of the leak in May? There are still many unanswered questions and whether they will be addressed in the future remains to be seen.
