Facing mounting outrage over the alleged NEET UG paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday defended the government’s decision to order a re-examination, announced a CBI crackdown on the alleged education mafia and said the medical entrance test would move to be a computer-based format from next year.Addressing a packed press conference amid growing anger among students and parents, Pradhan said the government had decided to act after it became clear by June 12 that questions had been circulated “under the guise of guess papers”.“We did not want any deserving candidate’s seat to be snatched away because of a mafia conspiracy,” he said, adding that the Centre did not want education mafias and anti-social elements to mislead students through social media rumours and leaked material.Calling paper leaks a “social evil”, the minister said the government had immediately handed the matter to the CBI and warned that “no one will be spared”, whether inside or outside the National Testing Agency.The remarks came as fresh questions emerged over unusually high scores at one NEET centre in Rajasthan. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra shared documents allegedly showing that nearly 150 students scored above 600 marks at Shri Mangal Chand Didwaniya Vidya Mandir centre in Sikar district.“What magic is in this one centre in Sikar, Rajasthan, that 150 students scored 600+ in NEET 2024? Mangal Chand Didwaniya Vidya Mandir center certainly needs investigating,” Moitra posted on X.The minister acknowledged that despite implementing “almost 70 per cent” of the recommendations made by the Radhakrishnan Committee after previous irregularities, “a breach still happened”. He repeatedly urged students not to fall for rumours and said restoring trust remained the government’s top priority.Pradhan said admit cards for the re-examination would reach candidates by June 14 and announced that students would not have to pay any fee. He also said the NTA would refund fees from the cancelled examination.Seeking to reassure anxious families, the minister said state governments would be asked to support transport arrangements for candidates appearing in the fresh examination, especially in view of the monsoon season.On repeated allegations of paper leaks under NTA’s watch, Pradhan admitted there was a need for “continuous improvement” but maintained the agency was carrying out examinations for nearly one crore students every year.“Zero error is our responsibility,” he said. “But this challenge is also changing with technology and cyber crime,” he added.