NEET row: Students cry foul, Rohtak varsity denies allegations

A controversy has erupted over the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) held in May at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak. On Tuesday, a delegation of students and research scholars, led by student leader Pradeep Deswal, submitted photographic evidence to Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Sachin Gupta and demanded a thorough probe into alleged irregularities during the examination.

The complainants claimed that while outsiders and mobile phones were strictly prohibited inside exam centres, CCTV footage from the IHTM centre on the university campus shows a suspicious person carrying a mobile phone while the exam was underway. They further alleged that individuals who were neither teachers nor regular MDU employees were deployed on exam duty “at the behest of university authorities”.

Deswal had already raised the issue at a joint press conference on Monday alongside MDU Teachers Association president Dr Vikas Siwach, bringing the matter to wider public attention.

The MDU administration, however, has strongly refuted the charges. In an official statement, Director (Public Relations) Prof Ashish Dahiya said: “In a press conference held on Monday by Pradeep Deswal and others, allegations were made regarding the role of MDU’s Vice-Chancellor and other offices in the NTA NEET examination at the IHTM Centre. The university unequivocally rejects these allegations as baseless.”

The statement stressed that the examination was conducted independently by the National Testing Agency (NTA), with MDU merely hosting eight centres. “The process was overseen by the City Coordinator and NTA observers under the full supervision of the district administration. Neither the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, nor any university authority had any role in the conduct of the examination.”

The university further maintained that all centres were monitored with live CCTV surveillance and jammers installed by an external NTA agency. “These claims are a deliberate attempt to tarnish the reputation of MDU,” it added.