NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) over media reports claiming "massive breach" of data of candidates who appeared for the NEET examination this year.

He also demanded a thorough enquiry into the matter.

In the letter to CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal , Gandhi called for putting in place additional safeguards to prevent such a breach in the future.

The Congress leader's letter comes following reports that personal data, including names, phone numbers and email ids of over 2,00,000 candidates, who appeared for CBSE's National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) this year were available for a price on some online portals.

"I am shocked by this wide scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country," Gandhi said in his letter.

He said it highlighted the "serious lack of safeguards" to prevent data breach, and calls into question the ability of the CBSE to ensure the sanctity of the examination process.

"I strongly urge you to order an inquiry against this shocking lapse and take action against the officials responsible for the same. In addition, I request you to put additional safeguards to prevent the recurrence of such data breaches," Gandhi said in the letter.

