In a significant development preceding today’s Supreme Court hearing on NEET-UG, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained three doctors from AIIMS Patna in connection with the alleged paper leak and irregularities surrounding the medical entrance examination.
The detained doctors, belonging to the 2021 batch, are currently under questioning after the CBI sealed their rooms and seized their laptops and mobile phones.
This action follows the recent arrests of two individuals, Pankaj Kumar and Raju Singh, implicated in stealing the NEET-UG question papers. Kumar, described as part of the paper leak syndicate, was apprehended in Patna, while Singh was arrested in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. Pankaj Kumar has been remanded to CBI custody for 14 days, while Raju Singh faces 10 days in custody.
The CBI has made a total of nine arrests in connection with the NEET paper leak case, including Rocky alias Rakesh Ranjan, identified as a key figure in the scandal from Bihar.
Today, the Supreme Court is set to hear a series of petitions related to the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 examination. At the previous hearing on July 11, the court had adjourned the case to allow for responses from the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA). The petitions include demands for cancellation of the exam, calls for a re-test, and inquiries into alleged malpractices during the conduct of NEET-UG 2024.
Earlier statements from the Supreme Court highlighted concerns over the integrity of NEET-UG 2024, suggesting the possibility of a re-test if the examination process was compromised. The court had sought detailed information from the NTA and the CBI regarding the alleged paper leak’s timing, method, and the extent of involvement by wrongdoers.
Both the Centre and the NTA have filed additional affidavits, with the Centre’s submission revealing data analytics from IIT-Madras indicating no widespread malpractice or abnormal scoring patterns among candidates. The NTA affirmed that its analysis of mark distribution across various levels did not point to systemic failures, attributing higher scores to a reduced syllabus that benefited aspirants.
Today’s hearing, presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is expected to address more than 40 petitions related to the NEET-UG controversy.
