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Rahul Gandhi questions CBSE over NEET data leak, demands action

A website had claimed it had access to details of over 2 lakh students along with their gender, roll numbers, rank and mobile numbers.

Written by : TNM Staff

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal seeking an inquiry into the data breach of students who had appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) earlier this year. 

Media reports had stated that a website had claimed it had access to details of over 2 lakh students along with their gender, roll numbers, rank and mobile numbers. The website had listed state-wise data of candidates from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. 

The Congress President sought action from the CBSE and asked the education body to put in place effective safeguards to prevent future breaches.

In a statement tweeted by the official handle of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi wrote to CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal that he was ‘shocked’ by this widescale theft of personal data and added that this has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country.

“This highlights the serious lack of safeguards to prevent data breach and calls into question the ability of the CBSE to ensure the sanctity of the examination process,” he stated.

 Rahul Gandhi has urged the chairperson to order an inquiry into the leak.

“I strongly urge you to order an inquiry against this shocking lapse and take action against the officials responsible for the same. In addition, I request you to put in additional safeguards to prevent the recurrence of such data breaches," the statement said.

The data of around 2,50,000 NEET candidates was reportedly available on a website, whose name was withheld for privacy concerns, and the data was available for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh. 

NEET is an entrance exam administered by the CBSE for admissions to medical colleges in India. Over 13 lakh candidates had appeared this year for the exam that was held on May 6 this year. 

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