NEET UG 2024 row: All India Students Association protest in Delhi

Syed Ekram Rizwi, Joint Secretary (Admin), Ministry of Education, who was present at the site, attempted to assure the protesters of resolving their grievances.

"You (protesters) can give your memorandum; I will give it to the Union Education Minister. We are committed to resolving your grievances. If you want, a small delegation can meet our officials," Rizwi told protesters.

"Bring back the students (Patna police arrested some candidates)," one of the protesters asked the Joint Secretary. They also raised slogans against the Delhi police.

Amid allegations of paper leak in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 row, a candidate from Samastipur has admitted that he was handed the leaked question paper by his uncle, a day prior to the examination held in May this year, police said on Thursday.

Anurag Yadav, 22, in his confession letter to Patna police, said that his uncle had summoned him from Kota in Rajasthan to Samastipur in Bihar saying that all arrangements for the exam had been made. Yadav's uncle Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, an engineer deployed at Bihar's Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad) has asked him to return to Samastipur.

In his confession letter to the police, Anurag said he was handed the NEET exam question paper and answer sheet on the eve of the exam that was held on May 5 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 May 4, 2024, where I was given the NEET exam question paper and answer sheet, which I was made to study and memorize overnight. My examination centre was DY Patil school," he said.

The NEET aspirant further said when he saw the actual question paper on the examination day, it matched with the one that his uncle had provided.

"The question paper that I received at my examination centre was the same that I was made to study and memorize on the night of May 4. I accept my involvement in the crime," Anurag said.

Patna Police has arrested several people including some candidates who had taken the NEET exam.Of them, four have been identified as- Anurag Yadav, a NEET candidate, his uncle Sikandar Yadavendu, and two others - Nitish Kumar and Anand.

According to Shahstri Nagar police station, Patna Police has obtained confessional statements of all the four accused in the NEET exam question paper leak case -Anurag Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand and Sikandar Prasad Yadvendu.

The confessions were taken under Section 161 of the CrPC

The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

Petitions have been filed in courts by students seeking a re-test.

On June 13, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of 1563 candidates who were awarded "grace marks" in the NEET-UG 2024 exam would be cancelled and these candidates would have an option to reappear for the exam on June 23, the results of which will be declared before June 30, or forgo the compensatory marks given for the loss of time.

On Tuesday, the apex court emphasized that any negligence, even as small as 0.001 per cent, in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination would be addressed thoroughly.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti told advocates representing the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) that any such negligence must be dealt with seriously.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today issued a notice on a plea filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) seeking the transfer of petitions relating to the NEET-UG, 2024 examination from different High Courts to the apex court. A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath has also stayed proceedings before different High Courts. The apex court reiterated that it will not stop the counselling process.

Also today, NSUI (National Students' Union of India) held a protest outside Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's residence in Delhi over NEET and UGC-NET issues. The protesters were soon detained by Police. (ANI)