The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken two individuals into custody, including a prime suspect, in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. These arrests bring the total number of individuals apprehended in relation to irregularities surrounding the exam to 14. According to officials, the agency alleges that Pankaj Kumar, also known as Aditya, a civil engineer from the 2017 batch of the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, stole the NEET-UG paper from an NTA trunk in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. Kumar, a resident of Bokaro, was apprehended in Patna.
The CBI also arrested Raju Singh, who is accused of aiding Kumar in stealing the paper and distributing it to other members of the gang. Singh was arrested in Hazaribagh. The investigative agency, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, NEET-UG 2024, has registered six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leakage, while cases from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra involve impersonation of candidates and cheating.
The CBI’s FIR, initiated at the request of the Union Education Ministry, aims to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged irregularities surrounding the examination. The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued notices to private parties concerning a series of petitions filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA). These petitions seek the transfer of NEET-UG cases currently pending in various high courts to the Supreme Court. The objective is to streamline legal proceedings and prevent multiple litigations on the matter.
More than 23.33 lakh students participated in the test conducted on May 5 across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
