NEET UG 2024: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has refuted the claims of a paper leak in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET UG) 2024 held on Sunday, terming them as "completely baseless and without any merit".
"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 substance," the NTA said in an official release.
The exam body stated that except for an incident in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur where some students forcibly took away the question papers before the conclusion of the examination, all other photos of papers circulating on social media have no relation to the actual paper.
The NTA mentioned instances of malpractice and impersonation cases, stating that stringent actions were taken against impersonators and candidates.
Many people have been arrested in various cities across the country for allegedly appearing in NEET UG 2024 in place of original candidates.
"NTA also conducts post-exam data analysis to detect cases of Unfair Means (UFM). Action on UFM cases is taken as per extant rules, which include cancellation of candidature and debarring from future examinations," the exam body stated.
This year, over 24 lakh students, the highest ever, registered for NEET UG 2024. The examinees include over 10 lakh male students and over 13 lakh female students.
The NTA attributed the increase in the number of students appearing in the exam to the option of several smaller cities as centers, especially in the Northeast, apart from Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states.
The NTA urges candidates, their parents, teachers, and all concerned not to pay heed to any rumors and to concentrate on forthcoming examinations.
The NEET (UG) 2024 was conducted across 4,750 centres in 571 cities (including 14 cities abroad) on May 5.