CBI arrests two people in NEET-UG exam
New Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested two people from Patna, Bihar in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. A senior CBI official confirmed the arrest of two people named Manish Prakash and Ashutosh. The arrested people were found working from Patna. He said that accused Ashutosh was arranging safe houses for the students, while the other accused Manish used to take the candidates to a school to ‘prepare’ them for the exam. The CBI official said, “Manish Prakash used to take the students in his car. While the students were accommodated at Ashutosh’s house.” These are the first arrests made by the CBI in the NEET paper leak case.
He said both the accused were produced in the court. On Monday, the CBI took over the investigation into the NEET (UG) paper leak case that surfaced in Patna (Bihar), another cheating case in Godhra (Gujarat) and three cases of alleged cheating in the exam in Rajasthan. Earlier in the day, referring to irregularities in the NEET-UG exam, Chairperson Draupadi Murmu said the government was committed to a fair probe into the recent incidents of paper leaks as well as severe punishment to the culprits. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the NEET-UG exam, has been facing criticism over alleged irregularities. This led to several protests across the country, with protesters and political parties demanding the dissolution of the NTA.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the National Testing Agency (NTA) on a plea that claimed “inconsistent” calculation of marks on the OMR sheets used for the NEET-UG 2024 exam. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Mishra and SVN Bhatti issued notice and sought a response from the NTA by July 8, the next date of hearing. Several petitions were filed in the apex court seeking withdrawal of NEET-UG 2024 results and direction to conduct a fresh exam, alleging paper leak and irregularities in the exam held on May 5. The apex court had already refused to stay the counselling of NEET-UG, 2024. The NEET-UG exam conducted by the NTA is the route for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
