The Congress on Thursday said that members of its youth wing were baton-charged by the Delhi Police during a protest against recent allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities in the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test.
The Indian Youth Congress and leftist student organisations on Thursday organised protests in the national capital over the irregularities in the entrance test for admissions to undergraduate medical courses and other examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency, The Indian Express reported.
The Delhi Police halted the protests and detained many students, the newspaper added.
The Congress claimed that members from its youth wing were “lathicharged and brutality was committed”.
It said that the “dictatorial [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi government, which destroyed the future of millions of youth of the country, could not tolerate this [the protests].”
The party added: “These police lathis will not be able to break our spirit. We will continue to fight for justice. The dictatorial government will have to bow before the truth.”
During the day, members from the National Students Union of India, the Congress’ student wing, also forcibly entered the National Testing Agency’s office and demanded an overhaul of the organisation. Over 100 protestors locked the office from the inside, according to NDTV.
The National Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET-UG examination and the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test for the post of assistant professor in universities and colleges, has been in the middle of a row concerning alleged irregularities in the conduct of the tests.
Other entrance examinations were also deferred in light of the allegations.
The results of the NEET-UG examination were announced on June 4. Subsequently, several aspirants alleged that an inflation of marks had led to 67 candidates securing the top rank, including six from the same examination centre.
Reports also alleged that at some centres, the question paper was leaked before the examination.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a clutch of petitions seeking that the NEET-UG examination results be cancelled and that the test be rescheduled.
On Thursday, President Droupadi Murmu in her address to a joint sitting of Parliament said that the Union government was fully committed to investigating the incidents of paper leaks and ensuring that those found guilty are punished, PTI reported.
CBI arrests two in Bihar
Amid these developments, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested two persons in Patna in connection with allegations of the paper leak in the NEET-UG examination, The Indian Express reported.
The central agency took over the case from the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit on Tuesday.
On Thursday, two men, identified as Manish Prakash and Ashutosh Kumar, were arrested.
Prakash allegedly arranged a vacant school where around 25 candidates received and memorised the leaked papers, The New Indian Express reported, quoting unidentified officials
Kumar allegedly provided lodging for the students at his home, the newspaper reported.
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