Tight security as Indian students resit medical exam after alleged paper leak

Millions of hopeful medical students across India are resitting a crucial exam under unprecedented security, after the first paper was cancelled following allegations that the questions had been leaked.

Nervous students were met with biometric identification checks, metal detectors, armoured patrols and frisking at exam centres on Sunday morning.

Leaving nothing to chance this time, the Indian Air Force transported the new test papers to some regions, while police and paramilitary officers were deployed at the 5,440 exam centres across the country.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), known as NEET-UG, is required for students to join medical colleges in India.

Of the millions who take the exam every year, only a small percentage do well enough to secure a coveted college placement.

Nearly 2.28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May, having studied for months - in some cases years - for the notoriously difficult paper.

The news that it had been scrapped was devastating for many students, and the scandal sparked widespread protests and demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign.

He did not, and told students before Sunday's exam: "Sit fearlessly, without worry, and you will definitely do well."

The National Testing Agency (NTA) said every exam room, of which there were more than 95,000, had been fitted with security cameras, and that more than 1.3 million cameras in total had been installed.

It added that 51,311 jammers were being used to block phone signals and electrical interference. Controversially, Telegram has been temporarily blocked until Monday, over concerns the messaging app could be used for cheating.

Nearly 39,000 frisking staff had been employed across the country to check for any prohibited items, the NTA said, and there would be 40-50 security personnel stationed at every exam centre.

It advised students to "ignore rumours and fake 'paper leak' messages circulating on social media", saying they were designed to "mislead and cause stress".

India Today reported drones and dog squads had been deployed to keep an eye on the surrounding areas of some centres.

It also said that strict dress codes were being enforced, including the banning of enclosed shoes, and that some women had been asked to remove their nose pins and wrist threads.

Pictures from outside exam centres showed security personnel inspecting candidates' hair, and taking out their earrings.

Despite the heightened security, some students said they were still worried things could go wrong again.

"There is fear because the [exam] paper has leaked once already. This is not a one-off thing, it happens every year," one student, who gave their name as Diksha, told Reuters.

"This time [the authorities] got to know about it and are holding the exam again, which is in a way a good thing because the students who worked hard should get fair results. But to study and prepare again in one month… to stay consistent is difficult."

The exam runs for three hours and 15 minutes, and has 180 questions on physics, chemistry and biology.

Many students have private tutoring to help improve their performance in the test, but its difficulty level, paired with how competitive it is to get a college placement, has seen India's organised crime networks take the opportunity to profit from exam fraud.

The leak allegations have been handed over to India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It is not the first time the country has faced serious claims of exam cheating and irregularities.

And earlier this year, results for a Grade 12 exam - equivalent to A-levels in the UK - saw many students complain about marking errors after a new digital marking system had been introduced.