NEET-UG Exam 2024 news: CBI probes alleged irregularities, 17 Bihar students debarred from re-test

NEET UG 2024 row: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday registered an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination 2024, reported PTI citing officials. Meanwhile, several students aspiring to make career in the medical field appeared in the NEET-UG 2024 re-examination held today.

The development has come a day after the Centre announced the probe into the alleged irregularities in the test. Nearly 24 lakh students appeared in the NEET-UG 2024 exam held last month. The investigation agency registered a fresh case against unidentified persons on a reference from the Union education ministry.

"Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractice have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on May 5," a senior education ministry official said.

"For transparency in the conduct of the examination process, it was decided after a review that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive investigation," the official added.

17 NEET-UG candidates debarred from today's re-test

A total of seventeen NEET-UG candidates were debarred from today's re-examination from centres in Bihar after detection of malpractice, said NTA on Sunday. NEET-UG re-examination of 1,563 students witnessed 52% attendance. Earlier, 63 candidates were debarred from all over the country over malpractices. Additonally, 17 from Bihar and 30 from Godhra have been debarred for unfair practices.

The CBI investigation in the matter will investigate the matter from different perspective and will also inquire the role of any public servants in the irregularities, and their connection with any “larger conspiracy”, reported NDTV citing sources.

NEET-UG exam today

Amid the ongoing controversy over irregularities in the NEET examination, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted NEET-UG re-examination for 1563 candidates who were affected by time loss. The NEET-UG re-examination time for students is three hours, and the examination time is from 2 pm to 5:20 pm. The NEET-UG 2024 re-examination result will likely to be announced on June 30, 2024. Earlier, the UG medical entrance test was conducted for lakhs of students on May 5. The result of the NEET-UG 2024 exam was declared on June 4. Soon after the result announcement, the toppers' list and the marks distribution raised questions on the examination conducted by NTA.

CBI to send special team Bihar and Gujarat

After taking over the case, CBI will investigate the matter on top priority. The investigative agency has already formed special teams that are en route to Godhra and Patna, where cases of question paper leaks have been registered by police, they said.

About NEET-UG 2024 Exam row

Two out of six exam toppers were awarded scores of 718 and 719 due to the compensatory marks. The marking scheme led to a huge uproar across the nation. The irregularities led to massive protests by students and other organisations and ultimately forced the NTA to give clarification on the issue. The NTA clarified that 1563 candidates from six centres were distributed the wrong papers, whereas a few candidates got torn OMR sheets, due to which they were awarded compensatory marks for the lost time.