Days after a 17-year-old National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET) 2020 candidate from Rajasthan claimed that the National Testing Agency had corrected his score from 329 to 650, the agency has now said that claims by the candidate are “totally fake and fabricated.”
“A candidate has claimed that he has 650 marks whereas he has obtained only 329 marks. This is even being broadcast at local news channels in some cities. The news is totally fake, fabricated and one sided only.”Statement from NTA
According to a Hindustan Times Report published on 20 October, Mridul Rawat, a NEET 2020 candidate from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan had claimed that he had emerged as the All India Topper in the Scheduled Tribe category, after the NTA allegedly corrected his scores.
The report also mentioned that Rawat was expecting a score of 650 out of 720, after comparing his answers with the official key released by the National Testing Agency. It is on the basis of this OMR sheet, reported HT, that Rawat challenged his score while tagging the NTA in his tweets.
No Mails Sent by Us: NTA Director
However, speaking to The Quint, NTA Director Dr Vineet Joshi clarified that the said candidate has scored 329 and that it has not been updated by the agency, as claimed by the latter in multiple reports.
When asked about Rawat’s claim that the NTA had corrected his score, Joshi said that no such mail had been sent by the agency.
“Those mails have not been sent by us. We have sent him only one mail in which we have guided him to website where the actual score is available. His score is 329 and he is not the ST topper.”Dr Vineet Joshi, Director, NTA
Further, Dr Joshi added that the NTA has issued a letter to the candidate asking him to explain the source of these mails which he claims to have received from the NTA. “Once he mentions all those e-mails, we will file a complaint with the police.”
(Update: The Quint had earlier published this news story citing a Hindustan Times report, in which the said NEET candidate claimed to top the exam in the ST category, while adding that NTA had corrected his score. The story had been updated to add the NTA’s response.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)