CBI arrests another key accused in NEET paper leak case

NSUI activists during their ‘Chhattra Sansad Gherav’ protest against the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and cancellation of UGC-NET exams in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 3 arrested an alleged key conspirator in connection with the Patna National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) paper leak case.

The accused, Aman Singh, was picked up by the agency from Dhanbad in Jharkhand following a tip-off. Earlier, three persons were arrested by the CBI from Hazaribagh for their purported role in the paper leak. They were identified as Jamaluddin, who worked as a journalist with a Hindi newspaper; Oasis School Principal Ahsanhul Haque and Vice-Principal Imtiaz Alam.

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Two others allegedly involved in the racket were Manish Prakash and Ashutosh Kumar. They had helped in arranging Learn Boys Hostel and Play School on rent in Patna’s Khemnichak locality, where the leaked question papers were allegedly distributed to the 20 to 25 candidates gathered there on the eve of the test, so that they could memorise the answers.

Spot verification

Earlier, the CBI team visited some places in Patna for the spot verification along with Baldev Kumar alias Chintu and Mukesh Kumar, both residents of Nalanda in Bihar.

As alleged, the solved question paper of NEET examination had been received allegedly on the mobile phone of Chintu in PDF format, and it was printed out using a wi-fi printer and distributed among the candidates to memorise the answers at play school. Mr. Mukesh Kumar allegedly helped in picking up and dropping off the candidates after they memorised the answers.

Last week, the agency had searched multiple locations in the Godhra, Ahmedabad, Kheda, and Anand districts of Gujarat in the matter related to the alleged attempt to help 30 students at a Godhra examination centre during the test.