NTA officials did not follow protocols due to which they failed to notice the tempering done in boxes in which the questions papers were transported.
The investigation in the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance examination that was being conducted by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar has revealed breaches in the prescribed security standards set by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for handling exam papers which led to the question paper being leaked before the exam.
The EOU, which on Sunday handed over its investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has stated that officials and staff at NTA responsible for ensuring security protocols related to the exam that includes ‘transportation, storage, hand over and takeover of the question papers’ did not followed these protocols due to which they failed to catch the tempering done in boxes where the questions papers were transported and the envelope in which they were to be further distributed at the examination centres.
The NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh 1997 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer of Chhattisgarh cadre has removed from the said post on Sunday and put on compulsory wait.
The EOU was on the verge of finding out the exact point of breach during the chain of custody related to the question papers, but it could not complete its investigation as now the CBI will handle it. In a related incident, the CBI team that had gone to Kasiyadih village, Rajauli police station, Nawada district to carry out investigation in the case was attacked by the villagers after which the local police had to send reinforcements to rescue the CBI officers.
An FIR has been filed in the case against 150 villagers. The village is close to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand where the origin of the paper leak likely happened.
As per the latest update by EOU, the origin of the leaked paper has been traced back to an examination centre in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The said centre was at Oasis school, Kullu chowk.
The FIR in the case was first registered on 5 May by the Shastri Nagar police station, Patna on 5 May and 13 accused were initially arrested. The case was then transferred to EOU on 17 May after which it arrested two additional main conspirators, including Baldev Kumar alias Chintu.
Investigation has revealed that the leaked exam papers were distributed via mobile phones and printed at Learn Boys Hostel and Play School at Patna.
According to the investigation, the arrested accused Baldev Kumar alias Chintu received a PDF file of the solved question paper on mobile on the morning of 5 May. Copies were made from their Wi-Fi printer kept in the school and groups of candidates were formed to memorize them.
were also made to bring and take candidates for secrecy. A drop-off point was fixed by the gang about 2 kilometers away from this school to take candidates to Learn Boys Hostel and Play School. Members of the gang were present at this drop-off point. A taxi was used by gang members to take candidates to and from Learn Boys Hostel and Play School from this drop-off point, as discovered during the investigation.
CBI had earlier registered FIRs to probe irregularities in NEET exam in 2018, 2021 and 2022. This is the fourth FIR as far as the NEET exam is concerned.
The CBI while registering the FIR said that it has registered a criminal case based on a written complaint from the Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. The FIR says that NEET(UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on 5th May 2024 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination. The complaint further alleges that certain isolated incidents occurred in a few States during the conduct of the NEET(UG) 2024 examination.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Education has requested the CBI to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes, and middlemen, including attempted irregularities. The Ministry has also requested CBI for investigation into the role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination and also into the entire gamut of events and the larger conspiracy,” the CBI stated.
It has further added that special teams have been formed by the CBI to investigate the matter on top priority and special CBI teams are being sent to Patna and Godhra where local police cases have been registered.
