The controversy surrounding the alleged NEET-UG paper leak has been intensifying in recent weeks. On Thursday, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi cited the death of a medical aspirant, Akanksha, while criticising the Centre's handling of alleged irregularities in the entrance examination system.

A day earlier, as part of efforts to thwart the Pakistan Army's designs to revive terrorism in Jammu-Kashmir, the Indian Army had redeployed troops in the higher reaches of areas south of Pir Panjal to carry out search and destroy operations. As a part of this deployment, over 10 battalions and 500 special forces operatives are stationed there