Kolkata: Protests were held near the West Bengal Education Department's headquarters in Salt Lake on Thursday, alleging irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG and delay in commencement of admissions in state-run colleges.

Expressing solidarity with the students over the issue of NEET-UG, the TMC demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe.

With placards in hands, members of the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) were on the way to the Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake near Kolkata when they were stopped by the police.

The police initially tried to pacify the protestors and remove them from the area. However, as they were firm on moving forward, police detained some of them and whisked them away in vehicles.

One of the protesters claimed that the future of many aspiring doctors has been jeopardised because of the row over NEET-UG.

Also, frustration among students is rising as even a month after the higher secondary results were announced, the admissions in state-run colleges did not begin, while private colleges have already begun the process, he said.

TMC spokesperson Santanu Sen alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre was playing with the future of students.

"This is one of the biggest scams of the BJP-led central government. The BJP is playing with the future of lakhs of students. We demand a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into this entire NEET-UG scandal, which has affected around 24 lakh students," said Sen, who is also a doctor.

Kunal Sarkar, a prominent city-based doctor, claimed the reports about the irregularities were just the tip of the iceberg , and there is a possibility of thousands of seats in several private medical colleges being put to auction in exchange of money ranging from Rs 2-3 crore .

It is a case of corruption of Himalayan proportions... We demand the entire counselling and admission process be put on hold for a month, he said.

Another prominent physician, Dr Arkadeep Biswas, added: In previous years, students securing 600 marks could get admission to reputed medical colleges, but this year's irregularities might deprive even those scoring 650 the opportunity to study medicine.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra has Pradhan rejected the allegations of paper leak in NEET-UG, saying there was no evidence of it.

The Centre told the Supreme Court that the decision to give grace marks to 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates for admission to MBBS, BDS and other courses has been cancelled and they will be given an option to take a re-test on June 23.