The central government is facing severe criticism due to irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam conducted in May this year. The controversy has escalated to the Supreme Court, where petitioners are seeking directions for the Bihar Police to expedite their investigation and file a report.
The exam was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres, with around 24 lakh candidates appearing. Results, expected on June 14, were surprisingly announced on June 4. Notably, 67 students scored a perfect 720, a first in NTA's history, raising suspicions. Six of these students were from a centre in Faridabad, Haryana, intensifying concerns about irregularities.
Controversy also arose over grace marks given to students to compensate for time lost at six centres. The government later informed the Supreme Court that these grace marks would be scrapped, offering 1,563 students the option of a retest.
Timeline of Developments:
May 5: The NTA conducted NEET on May 5. Post-exam, Sikandar Yadavendu and two others were arrested by Patna Police based on a tip about a paper leak. Yadavendu's identification led to the arrest of Ayush Raj, a NEET aspirant from DAV College, Patna. Following these arrests, nine more individuals, including NEET aspirants and their families, were apprehended.
May 6: Patna police interrogated the 13 arrested individuals and registered a case at Shastri Nagar police station, subsequently sending the accused to jail.
May 10: The case was transferred to Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit (EOU), and the accused were moved to their custody.
May 21: The EOU requested the NTA for details and original answer sheets of 11 candidates.
June 4: The NTA declared NEET UG 2024 results on June 4, coinciding with the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
June 12: The NTA provided the EOU with copies of the answer sheets for the 11 candidates under scrutiny.
June 16: Amid a nationwide uproar, the EOU released confessions from the arrested individuals, indicating monetary exchanges for the question papers. Statements revealed that medical aspirants paid over Rs 30 lakh each to brokers for the papers. Sikandar Kumar Yadavendu, a junior engineer, reportedly confessed his involvement and detailed financial negotiations with NEET aspirants' families.
June 18: The infamous Sanjeev Mukhiya gang's involvement emerged. The EOW unit took Sanjeev Mukhiya's son, Dr. Shiv, already in jail, and 10 others on remand.
June 19: Sikandar Yadavendu, identified as the paper leak mastermind, was suspended from his role as a junior engineer. Two candidates arrived for questioning at the Bihar EOU office, and an EOU team visited Delhi to present the case's developments to the Ministry of Education.
June 20: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha accused RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s secretary, Preetam, of booking a room for Yadavendu at the NHAI guest house. Tejashwi Yadav responded, asserting that the government should question anyone they deem necessary. Political tensions between RJD and BJP heightened.
June 22: The EOU arrested six more individuals from Deoghar in Jharkhand, all residents of Nalanda. The EOU began preparing to file a disproportionate assets case against Sikandar Yaduvanshu. On the same day, the EOU submitted their investigation report to the Ministry of Education, detailing progress and evidence related to the case.
Following the EOU's report, the Ministry of Education replaced the NTA DG as a significant action. Late that night, the investigation was transferred to the CBI.
