Rahul Gandhi writes to CBSE chief over NEET data leak row

New Delhi, July 24: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday has written to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chief over the NEET data leak row.

In a letter to CBSE chairman, Anita Karwal, writes, 'it's alleged that data of candidates who appeared for NEET this year, is available on certain websites for a price & has leaked data of over 2,00,000 students. I strongly urge you to order an inquiry'.

The phone numbers, email IDs and addresses of hundreds of thousands of applicants who took the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) in 2018 were available online, for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh, The Wire has reported.

Neetdata.com, the website in question, has since been taken down. NEET in a medical entrance exam for MBBS and BDS (dental courses) for admission into various private and government colleges throughout the country. The exam is convened by the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) every year.

The website provided the above data of NEET applicants from at least upto 15 states, including significantly larger states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and so on. The Wire report clarifies that the website did not offer the entire 'NEET database', as over 13 lakh individuals took NEET in 2018, while the data of 2.4 lakh people was available for purchase.