NEET-UG Paper Leak Row: Over two dozen students detained while protesting against NEET-UG irregularities, cancellation of UGC-NET exams at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi, June 24: More than two dozen students, including some NSUI members, were arrested while protesting against irregularities in NEET-UG and cancellation of UGC-NET exams here at Jantar Mantar on Monday. The Congress-affiliated National Union of Indian Students had planned a march to Parliament on the opening day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

The students, holding placards and NSUI flags, gathered in large numbers at Jantar Mantar for their ‘Chhatra Sansad Gherav’. Before the demonstration, police barricaded the area to prevent students from demonstrating. Heavy deployment of Delhi Police, including paramilitary forces, was made at the site. NEET-UG, UGC-NET Row: NSUI holds protest at Jantar Mantar, march to Parliament planned (watch videos).

According to footage of the protest shared with media, some students attempted to cross the barricades, while a few others climbed the structure. They were arrested by the Delhi Police and taken to different police stations as no permission was given for the march, an officer said. Amid demand for cancellation of the National Eligibility and Entrance Examination for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) conducted on May 5, the Union Education Ministry said incidents of professional misconduct were “localized” or “isolated” and that this was not fair. jeopardizing the careers of thousands of candidates who have rightly passed the exam. NEET-UG Retest 2024: Out of 1,563, 813 candidates appear for NEET-UG Retest, says National Testing Agency.

The CBI has filed an FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, among others. The UGC-NET-2024 examination for selection of young researchers, assistant professors and doctoral students was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 18 in two shifts across the country. The exam was postponed after the government said the “integrity of the exam may have been compromised.”