Confessions of four accused, including a candidate, arrested in Bihar in connection with the NEET paper leak case have sent shockwaves across the country, particularly at how easily the question paper was leaked on the eve of the May 5 exam.
As per the confession statements accessed by News18, prime accused Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, a junior engineer in the Danapur Town Council, arranged question papers for four exam aspirants to “prepare” them a day before the test and demanded Rs 40 lakh from each candidate. The statement also detailed his contact with middlemen Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, allegedly known for leaking prestigious exam papers such as NEET.
Yadvendu claimed that he demanded Rs 40 lakh from each aspirant, including his nephew Anurag Yadav, for providing the leaked question. On May 4, all four candidates were called to a guest house where Nitish and Anand helped them “prepare” using the leaked paper, Yadvendu claimed. All four – Yadvendu, Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand and Anurag Yadav – were arrested when Yadvendu was caught with the admit cards of the candidates during a vehicle check on May 5.
The candidates later confessed that the same questions appeared in the actual exam on May 5. Anurag Yadav, who was preparing for NEET-UG in Kota, said in his confession statement: “My uncle spoke to me when I was in Kota and told me he had access to the question paper. I came to Patna, and my uncle introduced me to two people — Amit and Nitish — who provided me with the question paper and answer key. They helped me prepare the questions overnight. They were the same questions in the actual question paper on May 5.”
‘CAME TO KNOW FROM TV, NEWSPAPERS’
Anurag Yadav is a resident of Pirdah village under Hasanpur police station area in Bihar’s Samastipur. When News18 visited the village, several residents said they are coming to know about the case details from TV and newspapers.
“We read newspapers, we know from them. But we don’t know exactly what happens where,” said Dinesh, a resident of the village, declining to speak further on-camera.
Another resident, Kusho Yadav, said the same. “Whatever happened in the village… we only get to know from newspapers and TV. We are illiterate people… a poor person’s child does not become a Collector, DIG or doctor.”
‘HIS FATHER WORKED HARD TO EDUCATE HIM’
Another villager told News18 that Anurag Yadav comes from a farming family and that his father worked hard to educate him. “This Anurag of Parida village who has been arrested in the NEET case has a relative from the Vidhan block itself. We have come to know from the media that he got the NEET question paper through him. He has been arrested in the same case. This boy came to the village less often. His father comes from a farmer family. He worked hard to educate his son. He was preparing for NEET. But it is very unfortunate that this happened. Because the brilliant students who are preparing, their morale breaks if the question paper is leaked like this.”
News18 also spoke to a young man who used to play with Anurag Yadav. He said he is aware of Anurag Yadav’s arrest and that he comes from a good family. “But when the paper gets leaked like this, the morale of the students studying is broken.”
NEET-UG CASE SO FAR
The NEET-UG 2024 exam was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4, apparently because the evaluation of the answer sheets got completed earlier.
There have been allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar and other irregularities in the prestigious exam. The allegations have led to protests in several cities and filing of petitions in several high courts as also the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said even if there was “0.001 percent negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.
The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in the government and private institutions across the country.
Amid the raging row and demands to re-conduct the medical entrance exam, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said isolated incidents of malpractices should not affect lakhs of students who cleared the examination rightfully.
Terming the leak of the UGC-NET exam’s question paper an “institutional failure” of the National Testing Agency (NTA), he said the government will constitute a high-level panel to look into the functioning of the agency.
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