New Delhi, The CBI filed an FIR on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam conducted on May 5 on reference from the Union Education Ministry, amid nationwide protests and litigation of students for an investigation into paper leaks. claims.
The ministry, in its complaint to the probe agency, claimed that "certain isolated incidents" occurred in some states during the conduct of the exam.
The Bihar and Gujarat governments also issued notifications on Sunday to transfer NEET-UG paper leak cases registered by their police to the CBI, paving the way for the central agency to take over the probe. Additional Chief Secretary Gujarat AK Rakesh issued the notification handing over the case registered at Godhra Taluka police station on May 8 under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, among others, to CBI.
The Bihar Home Department also issued a notification, transferring the paper leak case registered at Shastri Nagar police station in Patna to the federal investigation agency.
The Economic Crimes Unit of the Bihar Police arrested five more suspects on Sunday, taking the total number of those arrested in connection with the document leak case to 18. CBI is likely to re-register cases referred by governments of Bihar and Gujarat as their own FIRs, in addition to the FIR registered on Sunday, officials said.
Giving top priority to the case, the CBI sent special teams to Godhra and Patna, where the police registered cases of questionnaire leak, they said.
The police of both the states will hand over all documents related to the case to the visiting CBI teams, officials said. The CBI FIR came a day after the ministry announced that it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam. to the central agency, a demand raised by a section of protesting students.
"The Ministry of Education has asked the CBI to carry out a thorough investigation into the entire range of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes and intermediaries" said a CBI spokesperson.
According to the officials, the role of public officials, if any, in relation to the conduct of the investigation, as well as the entire range of events and the broader conspiracy, will also be examined. They said the agency registered a new case against unidentified persons under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, among others.
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG, which was conducted on May 5," a senior education ministry official said on Saturday.
"For greater transparency in the conduct of the investigation process, after a review it was decided that the matter would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation," the official had said. The allegations of irregularities sparked protests in several cities, litigation and a political fight, and the opposition accused the government of playing with the future of students.
Ten aspirants have approached the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the CBI and ED to probe the alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET-UG. The petition also seeks the Bihar Police to expedite investigation into the case and submit a report before the high court.
In a separate matter, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on various petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored inquiry.The apex court also stopped proceedings on similar petitions in several high courts.
The exam was conducted by the NTA on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, 14 of them abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test.
As many as 67 students scored a perfect score of 720, unprecedented in the history of NTA, and six from a center in Haryana's Faridabad figure in the list, raising suspicions of irregularities. There was also a controversy over grace marks granted to students to compensate for the loss of time in six centers. The Center later told the high court that the grace marks were being removed and 1,563 students who secured the marks would be given the option to retake the test.
The retest was conducted on Sunday and around 52 per cent (813 out of 1,563 candidates) appeared.
The NTA conducts the NEET-UG exam for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.Facing criticism over alleged discrepancies in the competitive exams, the Center on Saturday sacked the CEO of NTA Subodh Singh and set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the functioning of the agency and recommend reforms in examinations.
The ministry, in its complaint to the probe agency, claimed that "certain isolated incidents" occurred in some states during the conduct of the exam.
The Bihar and Gujarat governments also issued notifications on Sunday to transfer NEET-UG paper leak cases registered by their police to the CBI, paving the way for the central agency to take over the probe. Additional Chief Secretary Gujarat AK Rakesh issued the notification handing over the case registered at Godhra Taluka police station on May 8 under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, among others, to CBI.
The Bihar Home Department also issued a notification, transferring the paper leak case registered at Shastri Nagar police station in Patna to the federal investigation agency.
The Economic Crimes Unit of the Bihar Police arrested five more suspects on Sunday, taking the total number of those arrested in connection with the document leak case to 18. CBI is likely to re-register cases referred by governments of Bihar and Gujarat as their own FIRs, in addition to the FIR registered on Sunday, officials said.
Giving top priority to the case, the CBI sent special teams to Godhra and Patna, where the police registered cases of questionnaire leak, they said.
The police of both the states will hand over all documents related to the case to the visiting CBI teams, officials said. The CBI FIR came a day after the ministry announced that it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam. to the central agency, a demand raised by a section of protesting students.
"The Ministry of Education has asked the CBI to carry out a thorough investigation into the entire range of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes and intermediaries" said a CBI spokesperson.
According to the officials, the role of public officials, if any, in relation to the conduct of the investigation, as well as the entire range of events and the broader conspiracy, will also be examined. They said the agency registered a new case against unidentified persons under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, among others.
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG, which was conducted on May 5," a senior education ministry official said on Saturday.
"For greater transparency in the conduct of the investigation process, after a review it was decided that the matter would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation," the official had said. The allegations of irregularities sparked protests in several cities, litigation and a political fight, and the opposition accused the government of playing with the future of students.
Ten aspirants have approached the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the CBI and ED to probe the alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET-UG. The petition also seeks the Bihar Police to expedite investigation into the case and submit a report before the high court.
In a separate matter, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on various petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored inquiry.The apex court also stopped proceedings on similar petitions in several high courts.
The exam was conducted by the NTA on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, 14 of them abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test.
As many as 67 students scored a perfect score of 720, unprecedented in the history of NTA, and six from a center in Haryana's Faridabad figure in the list, raising suspicions of irregularities. There was also a controversy over grace marks granted to students to compensate for the loss of time in six centers. The Center later told the high court that the grace marks were being removed and 1,563 students who secured the marks would be given the option to retake the test.
The retest was conducted on Sunday and around 52 per cent (813 out of 1,563 candidates) appeared.
The NTA conducts the NEET-UG exam for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.Facing criticism over alleged discrepancies in the competitive exams, the Center on Saturday sacked the CEO of NTA Subodh Singh and set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the functioning of the agency and recommend reforms in examinations.
