Godhra NEET-UG case: Non-Gujarat candidates were asked to opt for Gujarati language in exam, CBI tells court

Several candidates from other states were allegedly asked to choose Gujarati as their preferred language to enable two Gujarati individuals, who were part of the exam process, to fill out their answer sheets.

This is what CBI’s investigation into the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leaks case at two centres in Gujarat suggests.

As per a report in India Today, according to the CBI investigation, many students from far off states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan chose two obscure centres in Godhra as their centres. 

CBI said that the accused, including principal of the school Purshottam Sharma and physics teacher Tushar Bhatt, were manipulating OMR sheets as they allegedly knew these answer sheets were kept at the centre overnight. Since the school was the exam centre in previous year as well, they were aware of the system. Sharma was also appointed as city co-ordinator by National Testing Agency (NTA), while Bhatt was deputy superintendent of the exam.

"They knew that last year also these two centres conducted these exams. They knew that OMR sheets were kept in the examination hall overnight. They knew they had the opportunity to manipulate the OMR sheets. So, what these four were doing was inducing the candidates who gave them blank cheques, money and once the candidates were in Godhra, they (accused) were briefing them (candidate) as well as their parents," CBI told the Godhra court while seeking custody of the accused.

According to CBI findings, the accused even made the students, hailing from Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Odisha, show their present or permanent address as Panchmahal and Vadodara districts. “These candidates were arranged through various means by the accused persons and their links in other states," the remand application read. 

The NEET UG for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges across the country was held on May 5 and its results were declared on June 4.

On Thursday, Supreme Court deferred its much anticipated hearing on pleas to conduct fresh examination for NEET-UG, 2024, and scheduled the matter for consideration on July 18 as the court and some of the petitioners were yet to go through the responses filed by the Centre and the NTA.