Amid allegations of a paper leak in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG 2024), an aspirant from Bihar has admitted to receiving the leaked question paper through his uncle, a Junior Engineer.
In his confession letter, Anurag Yadav (22), a resident of Bihar’s Samastipur, said his uncle Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, an engineer deployed at Bihar’s Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad), asked him to return from Kota in Rajasthan, saying all arrangements for the exam had been done.
Yadav said he received the NEET exam question paper and answer sheet on May 4, a day before the exam, and was made to memorize the answers.
“I returned from Kota and was taken to Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar by my uncle on the night of 04.05.24, where I was given the NEET exam question paper and answer sheet, which I was made to study and memorize overnight,” he said.
The NEET aspirant further said when he sat to write the exam, the actual question paper, matched with the one his uncle provided.
The confessional letter was signed by Yadav.
There have been allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar and other irregularities in the prestigious exam. The allegations have led to protests in several cities and the filing of petitions in several high courts as well as the Supreme Court.
The examination of NEET was held on May 5 but it was alleged that examination mafias obtained the question papers a day earlier. The case was later cracked by the Patna Police by arresting 13 persons, including six examination mafias, four students and three parents.
Patna Police had found the roll numbers and roll codes of the 11 candidates linked with a solver gang. Later, when the case was transferred to the Economic Offences Unit (EOU), it asked the NTA to provide the details on all 11 candidates. After receiving the details, the notice was served to these candidates to join the probe.
Earlier, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accepted that there were some irregularities in some places. He has said that if the senior officials of NTA are also found guilty in this, then strict action will be taken against them.
“Candidates and parents should be assured. The Central government has taken this matter seriously. There is a need for improvement in NTA,” he said.
