NEET-UG case: NTA denies allegations of unprecedented high marks

Filing a written submission on July 17, Wednesday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) denied the allegations of unprecedented higher marks concerning the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) case.

Owing to allegations of grace marks, paper leaks and malpractices, the medical entrance examinations aspiriants had approached the Supreme Court urging for a re-test. On July 11, the apex court heard a batch of petitions about the same.

According to LiveLaw, the NTA's written submissions read, "The allegations of the petitioners that there has been a systemic failure as candidates have obtained unprecedented higher marks only in the top range of mark interval are misconceived and thus denied.”

Today, the apex court has scheduled a batch of several petitions seeking a re-test for hearing. Conducted on May 5, the NEET-UG exam saw the participation of more than 23 lakh candidates in 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is probing the alleged irregularities has questioned three students from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna.

Additionally, on July 16, it had arrested Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jamshedpur, who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh, the officials said. Kumar, a resident of Bokaro, was arrested from Patna, they said.

The CBI has lodged six FIRs. While the FIR from Bihar pertains to a paper leak, the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are regarding impersonation of candidates and cheating.