Not Bihar, NEET Paper Leak Originated From This State

New Delhi: As the NEET-UG paper leak controversy continues to develop, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed new details regarding the origins of the scandal. Contrary to earlier reports suggesting that Bihar was the source of the leak, the CBI's investigation has revealed that the initial breach occurred in Hazaribagh, a city in Jharkhand.

The CBI's probe has not only pinpointed Hazaribagh as the epicentre of the leak but has also uncovered strong ties between the scandal and several prominent educational institutions within Jharkhand.

It is to be noted that earlier, it was believed that the exam paper was first leaked in Bihar, leading to several arrests across the state. 

This comes as a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud at the Supreme Court today, July 11, will be hearing a batch of petitions regarding the alleged paper leaks and irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 exam and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct a re-test.

What Does the CBI Probe Reveal:

The agency's investigation report revealed that nine sets of NEET-UG question papers were sent to the State Bank of India branch two days before the exam day (May 5).

Among these paper sets, two were sent to one of the exam centres in Hazaribagh, the Oasis School. However, the seals of these sets were found to be open before reaching the exam centre.

Following this, the principal and vice-principal of the school failed to report this 'irregularity' to the NTA.

Furthermore, Bihar's Economic Offences Wing confirmed the principal's involvement in the paper leak after a piece of evidence was found at his residence in Bihar, where he sold these papers to some 30 students for Rs 30 to 50 lakhs each.

NTA Denies Indication of Mass Malpractice

On Wednesday, the Centre told the apex court that there was neither any indication of "mass malpractice" nor a localised set of candidates benefitted leading to abnormal scores in the NEET-UG 20245 exam.

It said that the data analytics of results of NEET-UG 2024 was conducted by IIT Madras and as per the findings given by the institute's experts, the marks distribution follows the bell-shaped curve that is witnessed in any large-scale examination indicating 'no abnormality.'

In addition to this, it filed a fresh affidavit for 2024-25, saying that the counselling process for undergraduates will be conducted in a total of four rounds starting from the third week of July.

"This analysis indicates that the distribution of marks is quite normal and there seems to be no extraneous factor, which would influence the distribution of marks," NTA said in its affidavit.