NEET-UG exam paper leak case: The Bihar Police arrested six people from Jharkhand's Deoghar district in connection with the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), an official said today (June 22). They were detained from a house near AIIMS-Deoghar in Devipur police station area on Friday night, he added.
"The Bihar Police gave us a tip-off. On our identification, they were taken into custody. All the suspects have been taken to Bihar," SDPO (Deoghar Sadar) Ritvik Srivastava told media. The suspects were allegedly living at the house of one Jhunu Singh, he said.
Here is the list of 6 suspects who are identified as-
- Paramjit Singh alias Bittu
- Chintu alias Baldev Kumar
- Kaju alias Prashant Kumar
- Ajit Kumar
- Rajiv Kumar alias Karu
- Panku Kumar
According to a statement issued by the Deoghar Police, they all are residents of Nalanda district of Bihar
NEET examination 2024
NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.
Fresh plea in Supreme Court seeks CBI, ED enquiry into NEET-UG exam
A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the CBI and the ED to investigate alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. The petition, filed by 10 students who had appeared for the exam, has also sought a direction to Bihar Police to expedite the investigation in the case and file a report before the apex court.
"The petitioners are fully aware of the ramifications of the cancellation of the examination but there is absolutely no other alternative. The NEET UG Examination of 2024 had many other irregularities, in particular, the gross negligence on the part of the authorities to make the question papers available to the candidates on time. In some places, the wrong set of question papers was distributed and later recalled," the plea said.
The top court had earlier sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on a slew of petitions, including those seeking scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored probe, amid mounting outrage over alleged irregularities in conducting the all-India medical entrance test.
Education Ministry forms 7-member committee to reform exam process
Amid the ongoing crisis around paper leak allegations, the Ministry of Education today said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and functioning of National Testing Agency (NTA). The 7-member committee, led by ISRO Former Chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.
The NTA is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in this year's National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exams and NET exam. This resulted in several protests across the country with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.
"In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency (NTA), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on Reform in mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of National Testing Agency," the ministry said.
The statement from the ministry comes days after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Thursday that the government will set up a high-level committee to look into the functioning of the National Testing Agency and recommend reforms. Besides K Radhakrishnan, Dr Randeep Guleria, Former Director of AIIMS Delhi, Prof. B J Rao, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Hyderabad; Prof. Ramamurthy K, Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras; Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder, People Strong and Board Member- Karmayogi Bharat; Prof. Aditya Mittal, Dean Student Affairs, IIT Delhi; Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India (Member Secretary) is also member of this committee. As per the ministry, the committee will look into reforming in mechanism of the examination process by analysing the end-to-end examination process and suggesting measures to improve the efficiency of the system and to forestall any possible breach.
Review of Standard Operating Procedures, protocols of NTA
The committee will also conduct a thorough review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Protocols of the NTA, and suggest measures to strengthen these procedures/protocols along with monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance at every level. The committee will also suggest measures to improve data security protocols by evaluating the existing data security processes and protocols of NTA and recommend measures for its improvement. They will also examine existing security protocols related to the paper-setting and other processes for different examinations and make recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system, the Ministry of Education said in the statement.
They will also look into the structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency by making recommendations on the organizational structure and functioning of the agency (NTA) for implementation of recommendations given under points (i) and (ii) and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of functionaries at every level. The committee will also assess the current Grievance Redressal Mechanism of the NTA, identify areas of improvement and make recommendations for enhancing its efficiency.
"The Committee shall submit its report to the Ministry within two months from the date of issue of this order. The Committee can co-opt any Subject Matter Expert to assist them," the ministry said.
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