New Delhi, May 4: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduate (NEET-UG) was conducted on Sunday at over 5,400 centers across the country with stringent security measures in place, officials reported.
More than 22.7 lakh candidates had registered for the exam, and the official attendance figures will be released shortly.
Ahead of the test, mock drills were conducted on Saturday at all NEET-UG centers to ensure the smooth execution of the exam. Most centers were set up in government and government-aided schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions.
Although no major incidents were reported, members of the Brahmin community staged a protest outside an exam center in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, following reports that some students from the community were asked to remove their 'janivara' (sacred thread) before entering the exam hall.
In Rajasthan, the Special Operations Group of the police detained three individuals for allegedly attempting to extort ₹40 lakh from a candidate by promising access to the question paper. Meanwhile, in Bhubaneswar, four members of an interstate gang were arrested for allegedly collecting money from aspirants in exchange for medical college admission.
An official explained that three layers of monitoring were implemented at the district, state, and central levels. Mock drills tested various aspects, including mobile signal jammers, frisking procedures, and biometric authentication systems to ensure readiness.
The National Testing Agency, under the Union Ministry of Education, took several security steps, including transporting question papers under police escort, monitoring coaching centers to prevent cheating rings, and conducting extensive frisking by district police, alongside designated security personnel at the exam centers. These enhanced measures followed concerns raised the previous year over irregularities, such as paper leaks, which threatened the integrity of the exam.
