NEW DELHI/PATNA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday made its first arrests in the probe into the irregularities in the NEET-UG exam, taking into custody two individuals from Patna, people familiar with the development said.
According to one officer, Ashutosh Kumar rented the Learn Boys Hostel and Play School premises in Patna.
Aspirants who paid the money to the so-called “solver gang”, allegedly run by 53-year-old Sanjeev Kumar (aka Luthan Mukhia) for obtaining the leaked NEET-UG paper were taken to these premises.
Bihar police found out about the premises during its probe and recovered a photocopy of a half-burnt question paper set from there.
CBI has been questioning several suspects, including 17 suspects arrested by Bihar police, to get leads on Mukhia, the other co-accused and parents who paid money to the gang for the NEET-UG paper.
NEW DELHI/PATNA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday made its first arrests in the probe into the irregularities in the NEET-UG exam, taking into custody two individuals from Patna, people familiar with the development said. In this combo photo, men arrested by CBI in the NEET-UG paper leak case after their medical check-up at LNJP hospital in Patna on June 27 (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)
The accused, identified as Ashutosh Kumar and Manish Kumar, allegedly provided a location where some of those who appeared for the exam were given the leaked NEET question paper and answer keys, they added.
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The two were produced before a special court in Patna, which sent them to judicial custody.
Also Read: Did the Bihar Police already crack the NEET case?
According to one officer, Ashutosh Kumar rented the Learn Boys Hostel and Play School premises in Patna. Aspirants who paid the money to the so-called “solver gang”, allegedly run by 53-year-old Sanjeev Kumar (aka Luthan Mukhia) for obtaining the leaked NEET-UG paper were taken to these premises.
Bihar police found out about the premises during its probe and recovered a photocopy of a half-burnt question paper set from there.
The other accused, Manish Kumar, was involved in striking deals with aspirants and ferrying them to the hostel.
CBI has been questioning several suspects, including 17 suspects arrested by Bihar police, to get leads on Mukhia, the other co-accused and parents who paid money to the gang for the NEET-UG paper.
The past week was marked by protests by student groups and political parties over the issue, the cancellation of another critical national examination UGC-NET, and the postponing of two others — a string of controversies that eventually forced the government to sack the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducted the NEET-UG (National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test for undergraduate medical college admissions) on May 5.
Several petitioners have approached the Supreme Court with various requests relating to the exam, including a plea to scrap it entirely or halt the counselling process — by which students are allotted seats in different colleges — that is scheduled to begin on July 6. The court refused to pass any interim orders and will hear the matter again on July 8.
While handing over the probe to CBI on Saturday late evening, the Union education ministry said it was doing so for the transparency on the conduct of the examination process.
The NEET (UG) 2024 examination was conducted by NTA on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. About 2.3 million candidates were due to appear for the examination.
The ministry of education asked CBI to conduct a “comprehensive investigation into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes, and middlemen, including attempted irregularities.”
It also asked the agency to investigate the “role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination” as well as “the entire gamut of events and the larger conspiracy”.
The agency is already investigating the leak of the UGC-NET 2024 question paper, which was cancelled a day after being held on June 18 following inputs received by the government showing the questions had been leaked on the dark web.
