The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday registered a case in connection with allegations of irregularities in NEET-UG 2024, as per sources. The development follows hours after the Centre handed over the investigation into the matter to CBI. The agency will take over FIRs registered in several states in connection with irregularities in NEET. Individuals arrested by state police will also be taken into CBI custody. The decision to hand over the probe to the CBI came after reports of cheating, impersonation, and other malpractices in the examination process.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Education stated, “Certain cases of alleged irregularities/cheating/impersonation/malpractices have been reported with regard to the NEET examination. For transparency in the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, after a review, has decided to entrust the matter to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation. “The NEET-UG was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres in the country and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The results were announced on June 4, ten days ahead of the expected date.
Days after, there were reports of NEET-UG paper leak in BIhar. Patna Police arrested seven people, including four candidates, in connection with the case. The arrested candidates, in a written confession, said that they were provided with the question paper a day before the exam. A political row soon erupted, with the Opposition demanding that the medical entrance exam NEET be re-conducted. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, however, said that the government won’t imperil the future of thousands of aspirants because of a few “isolated incidents”
