Vadodara: Cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 amid allegations of paper leaks and malpractice on Tuesday has brought renewed attention to the 2024 controversy that had raised questions over the integrity of India’s medical entrance examination system, including the alleged cheating racket linked to Gujarat’s Godhra centres.Similar to the NEET UG-2026, the NEET-UG 2024 examination had sparked nationwide concern after allegations of paper leaks, grace marks, suspicious scores and organised cheating surfaced from multiple states.While Bihar and Jharkhand had emerged as key centres in the alleged paper leak probe, Gujarat’s “Godhra angle” also came under scrutiny.The Gujarat case involved the Jay Jalaram Education Trust, which runs Jay Jalaram School near Godhra in Panchmahal district and Jay Jalaram International School in Kheda district. Both institutions had served as NEET-UG 2024 examination centres.Candidates were promised higher scores in exchange for payments ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, officials said.According to the probe, students were allegedly instructed to answer only questions they were confident about and leave the remaining OMR circles blank. Investigators alleged that the accused planned to use the gap before answer sheets were sealed and dispatched to fill in additional answers.The investigation also found that several candidates from outside Gujarat had allegedly changed their addresses to Gujarat locations, selected Godhra as their exam centre and opted for Gujarati as the examination medium. Investigators suspected this was done to route candidates to centres allegedly linked to the accused.“The case was initially investigated by Gujarat Police before being transferred to the CBI, which arrested trust chairman Dixit Patel and others in 2024,” said an official.The matter resurfaced in April this year after the Gujarat High Court refused to discharge Patel from the case, observing that investigation material disclosed prima facie evidence and “grave suspicion” warranting trial. Patel denied involvement and argued there was no direct evidence linking him to the alleged conspiracy.The 2024 controversy had eventually reached the Supreme Court, which observed that the sanctity of the examination process had been affected, though it declined to order a nationwide re-test. With fresh allegations now surfacing in NEET-UG 2026, concerns over exam integrity and the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) have again come into focus.
