Bengaluru, 23 June

The Bengaluru Traffic Police on Tuesday said their "fact check" has revealed that late departure and selection of a longer route led to a student missing the NEET exam on 21 June.

The clarification was made based on CCTV footage, interaction with the candidate from RT Nagar and parents' route analysis, they said.

Taking to the social media platform 'X', the traffic police said that CCTV analysis and route verification have established that the NEET candidate reached the examination centre after the stipulated cut-off time.

"Traffic conditions were found to be normal, and traffic police personnel facilitated movement wherever required. The delay was primarily due to late departure from residence and route selection," it said.

Hitting back at the state government, the BJP in Karnataka claimed that the "fact check" released by the Bengaluru Traffic Police regarding the NEET candidate's delay is a "deeply disappointing" attempt by the Congress-led government to weaponise state machinery and shield itself from public outrage.

Calling the Congress government in Karnataka "shameless and insensitive", the BJP said that instead of showing empathy to students whose futures hang in the balance, the administration is focusing its energy on micro-analysing the commute of a distressed aspirant.

Sharing details of the fact check, the traffic police said the candidate departed from residence in RT Nagar at 12.57pm, while 1.30pm was the prescribed cut-off time for entry into the examination centre.

However, the candidate reached the examination centre area at 1.33pm after the cut-off time, it said.

Citing the findings, the Bengaluru Traffic Police explained that CCTV footage and route analysis confirm that the candidate departed only 33 minutes before the prescribed cut-off time.

It said analysis indicates that the candidate travelled a longer route, despite the availability of a shorter route, which could have enabled quicker travel.

"Traffic conditions on the day were generally normal, with no significant congestion attributable to the public event. Traffic Police personnel deployed on the route were seen facilitating the candidate's movement whenever required," the Bengaluru Police fact-check revealed.

The BJP has targeted the ruling Congress in Karnataka for holding a mega rally in Bengaluru on the day of the NEET exam (June 21), alleging that it caused massive traffic disruption and inconvenienced students travelling to examination centres.

Rejecting BJP's allegations, state Home Minister Priyank Kharge maintained that three students had missed exams ---of them --- one student came from Magadi which had nothing to do with Congress rally, another candidate arrived with an old hall ticket and only one candidate was travelling from the RT Nagar side.

Citing the standard operating procedures issued by the Centre for NEET, Kharge said examination centre gates were to open at 11am and closed at 1:30pm, after which no candidate would be permitted entry.

He said that a traffic advisory had been issued well in advance and a helpline set up for those requiring assistance.

Taking to social media platform 'X', the Karnataka BJP said instead of using the state police to catch criminals, ensure safe access for women, and fix Bengaluru's infamous gridlocks, the Home Minister is allegedly forcing law enforcement to run corporate "Fact-Check" campaigns to shield his failed administration.

"Hundreds of parents and students on the ground explicitly reported being caught in terrible traffic gridlocks caused entirely by your political event. Are they all lying, Minister Kharge? Is a distressed student’s ruined career just a matter of cold 'route analytics' to you?" the party alleged.

The BJP hit out at the Congress party for choosing the exact day of a crucial nationwide NEET exam to hold a massive political convention at Palace Grounds.

"To now claim through a desperate infographic that a mega-rally had "no significant impact" on traffic completely defies the daily, painful reality of every Bengaluru commuter! A student's tearful plea outside a locked exam gate should have evoked institutional remorse. Instead, it has met with bureaucratic coldness and a desperate attempt to protect the image of Congress leaders," the party further alleged.