Editor
The tragic death of 21-year-old NEET aspirant Ritik Mishra from Hasanpur Katauli village under Isanagar area of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, has shaken the conscience of the entire nation. A young boy who spent years preparing for one of India’s toughest examinations reportedly lost hope after the sudden cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination due to the paper leak scandal. Today, after the arrest of the alleged mastermind by the CBI, one painful question echoes across the country — who will now take responsibility for the life that has been lost?
According to the CBI investigation, the alleged kingpin of the paper leak racket, P.V. Kulkarni, a retired chemistry professor formerly associated with Dayanand College, Latur, has been arrested. Investigators claim that he was connected with the examination process of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and allegedly had access to confidential question papers. Another accused, Manisha Waghmare, was also arrested earlier for allegedly helping organise special coaching sessions where questions and answers were reportedly dictated to selected students before the examination. Apart from them, several other accused have already been arrested from Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, and Ahilyanagar in connection with the case.
If these allegations are true, then this is not simply an act of cheating by a few individuals; it is a complete betrayal of the trust of millions of honest students and parents.
Will responsibility end merely with the arrest of some lecturers, middlemen, and agents? Certainly not.
A national examination involving lakhs of students cannot collapse because of one person alone. Such a scandal clearly points towards deep administrative failures, weak security arrangements, negligence, and lack of accountability at several levels. When confidential examination papers allegedly reach selected students before the examination itself, it means the very system meant to protect merit and fairness has failed badly.
The saddest reality is that while investigations may continue for months and courts may eventually punish the accused, one innocent life has already been lost forever. Ritik Mishra will never return to his grieving parents. His dreams of becoming a doctor have ended silently within the walls of his own home. No punishment can truly compensate for that loss.
In every responsible democracy, when such major failures occur, senior authorities publicly accept accountability. Resignations are offered not only because of legal responsibility, but because of moral responsibility towards society. Unfortunately, in our country, accountability often disappears behind endless investigations, official statements, and political arguments.
The country now deserves honest answers.
Who failed to secure the examination process?
Who ignored warning signs and loopholes?
Who allowed confidential papers to reach the wrong hands?
Why do examination scams continue repeatedly despite past controversies?
Most importantly, who will answer the lakhs of students whose confidence, mental peace, and future have been shattered?
Competitive examinations are not merely tests. They carry the sacrifices of poor parents, the sleepless nights of students, and the hopes of entire families. When corruption enters such systems, it destroys not only careers but also young minds and faith in justice itself.
The death of Ritik Mishra from Hasanpur Katauli should become a national wake-up call. If strict accountability is still not fixed now, then society itself will share responsibility for future tragedies.
Yours etc.,
Jairaj
Via email
The Silent Guillotine: The Psychological Toll of MPSC’s Frozen Calendar
Editor
The shift in leadership at the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) has sparked a fierce and necessary debate: is this change a boon or a bane for the state’s future? Historically, the previous administration was noted for maintaining critical operational momentum despite the complex landscape of state recruitment. The former secretary was often credited with providing timely interventions, ensuring that examination schedules remained predictable and results were declared with reasonable promptness. For those navigating a strict career timeline, this efficiency was not just a convenience; it was a lifeline that offered a clear sense of direction and hope.
In stark contrast, the tenure of the new secretary has been defined by a perceptible and paralyzing stagnation. The ongoing delay in conducting examinations is far more than a mere procedural hiccup; for aspirants standing on the precipice of the age limit, it is a catastrophe. This administrative “bane” is effectively robbing thousands of their final opportunity to compete, turning years of gruelling preparation and sacrifice into a desperate race against a clock that the Commission has allowed to stall. The total absence of an updated academic calendar and the deafening silence regarding upcoming notifications have left veteran aspirants in a state of professional and emotional limbo, wondering if their hard work will simply be rendered void by bureaucratic inertia.
This transition represents a fundamental breakdown in the “social contract” between the Commission and the youth of Meghalaya. A functional and empathetic administration instils a sense of meritocracy, ensuring that a candidate’s sweat and toil are met with equal administrative accountability. However, the current lack of urgency suggests a disconnect that the MPSC can ill afford. For those at the age threshold, the bureaucracy isn’t just slow it is exclusionary, effectively slamming the door on a generation of talent before they even get a chance to prove their worth.
Furthermore, the conspicuous silence of local organizations and pressure groups who were once so quick to march in protest for the rights of the unemployed is deeply unsettling. Their current absence has left aspirants feeling profoundly abandoned in this administrative void. While previous tenures demonstrated the political and administrative will to fast-track recruitment, the current leadership has allowed nearly half the year to slip away in a fog of apathy. This is a systematic erasure of dreams. Every month of silence is a door closing forever, penalizing dedicated students for a crisis of stagnation they did not create.
The MPSC must realize that for a veteran aspirant, time is the most expensive and non-renewable resource they possess. The administration must wake up and restore the heartbeat of the recruitment process. A generation of dedicated students is left to wonder if the system they strive to join has forgotten its primary duty: to remain functional, transparent, and, above all, timely. Time is running out—not just for the aspirants, but for the very credibility of the Commission itself.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request,
Via email
Titanic blunder!
Editor,
The selection of the President of Khasi Authors Society (KAS) Dr D.R.L Nonglait as the NPP candidate for the forthcoming MP by-election to the prestigious Shillong parliamentary seat has naturally raised a hornet’s nest in the public domain! Incidentally, preceding his selection as a candidate of the NPP, the latter must have sent feelers to approach Mr Nonglait to seek his consent,and as he has evidently expressed his keen interest to contest the election, he ought to have morally and without much ado resigned from the Presidentship of the Khasi Authors Society. It cannot be denied that contesting an election as a candidate of a political party and holding the post of President, Khasi Authors Society( KAS) does not augur well for any apolitical welfare organization, for one can’t have the cake and eat it too!
Notably,when the news was disseminated among the members of the KAS many of them were heard, yelling at the top of their voices in support of their President contesting on the NPP symbol. Such spontaneous enthusiasm exhibited by these selective members have markedly let some discerning citizens to opine that KAS is, so to say, an agent of the NPP political party. Ideally, in order to clear this vortex of obfuscation/duplicity it is advisable for Dr Nonglait to resign from the top post of KAS and contest the election on a level playing field without an iota of prejudice thereby dispelling widespread public apprehension/ misgivings for, at the end of the day what counts is the truth!
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request,
Via email
