NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday denied reports of question paper leak of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024, saying that the claims made on social media are "completely baseless and without any grounds."
Highlighting that every question paper has been "accounted for," the NTA said that the purported images of the question paper being circulated on social media have no relation with the actual paper.
The NEET-UG examination, held on Sunday, was conducted across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad.
In a statement, NTA said posts circulating on social media platforms, a perception is being created that the question paper got leaked before the commencement of examination.
“It has been ascertained from NTA's security protocols and Standard Operating Procedures that the Social Media Posts pointing towards any paper leak are completely baseless and without any ground. To put rumours to rest, it is also stated that every single Question Paper (QP) has been accounted for,” Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA said in a statement.
Further, it noted that after the gate of the examination centres are closed, no one from outside is permitted access inside the halls which are under CCTV surveillance.
NTA said that there was one incident at a centre in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, where some students forcibly took away the question papers before the conclusion of the examination.
A picture of this QP is being linked to an alleged incident of a paper leak which is mischievous and preposterous, the NTA said.
It added that there is no way any external person/agency can access the centres, once the examination started.
It further clarified that all other photographs of QPs circulating in social media have no relation to the actual examination question paper which has been administered.
However, it said that there have been cases of malpractice/impersonation where strict action has been taken on impersonators/candidates.
NTA said it has also conducted post-exam data analysis, to detect cases of unfair means .
Action on UFM cases is taken as per extant rules, which include cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations, it added.
The NEET UG 2024 saw record-high registrations this year, with over 24 lakh students registering, the highest ever, with over 10 lakh male students, and over 13 lakh female students.
This increase was facilitated by opting for several smaller cities as centers, especially in the Northeast, apart from Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states.
The clarification came after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadhra took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and claimed that the future of 24 lakh youth of the country has been messed up once again with the NEET paper leak.
