NEET-UG: 17 candidates from Bihar, 30 from Gujarat debarred for malpractices

The National Testing Agency (NTA) debarred 17 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (undergraduate) or NEET-UG exam candidates who appeared in May 5 exam from centres in Bihar following detection of malpractice.

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A total of 63 candidates were debarred from all over the country over malpractices. Now 17 candidates from Bihar have been debarred for malpractices during the NEET examination. 30 candidates from centres in Godhra have been debarred, NTA said in a statement.

The NEET-UG exam, conducted on May 5 in OMR (pen and paper) format, has been marred by allegations of irregularities, including claims of discretionary grace marking, cheating, and impersonation. This has led to widespread demands from opposition parties and student groups for a retest.

To address the grace marking issue, on Sunday, the NTA conducted NEET-UG 2024 retest for 1,563 students who were awarded the marks. However, only 52 per cent i.e. 813 candidates took exam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) on Sunday following a complaint from the Union education ministry. The ministry alleged that "isolated incidents occurred” during the exam in several states, prompting the FIR.

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The CBI has deployed special teams to Godhra and Patna, where cases of question paper leaks were reported by local police. The agency intends to take over these investigations from the respective state authorities in Gujarat and Bihar.

The Bihar Economic Offences Unit (EOU) had arrested 13 people, including the prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, in connection with alleged paper leaks during the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Additionally, Bihar Police detained six more from Jharkhand's Deoghar district in connection with the case last Saturday.

No hacking of website: NTA

The NTA also dismissed the allegations of the portals being compromised, calling them "wrong and misleading."

"NTA website and all its web portals are fully secure. Any information that has been compromised and hacked is wrong and misleading," the NTA said in a post on X.