NEET Controversy Updates: CBI to Seek Custody of All Accused; Bihar-Linked Admits Recovered in Maharashtra

New Delhi: In the latest update regarding the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is currently investigating the alleged irregularities in the undergraduate medical entrance exam, is planning to seek the custody of all 18 accused for interrogation, The Hindu has reported.

Currently all the accused- including 13 from Patna and 5 from Jharkhand- are in judicial custody. While investigating the case, earlier the Economic Offences Wing (EOU) had arrested these individuals. However, later the case was handed over to CBI on Monday.

Meanwhile, the NEET paper leak racket has now been traced in Maharashtra, where the police discovered more than a dozen admit cards belonging to students who appeared to be from Bihar.

The authorities at Maharashtra Police, which recently uncovered a racket involving NEET-UG in Latur district, are examining whether this gang, active in the Marathwada area, had connections to Bihar or was part of a larger criminal network.

NEET Controversy: 

Medical Dialogues has been reporting about the NEET UG 2024 paper leak controversies. The allegations of paper leak first came to light in Bihar. Around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, after taking over the probe, CBI will seek custody of all the 18 accused for interrogation. Sources further informed the Daily that with the development in the probe, CBI will also investigate money transactions, including the commission given to middlemen, in the case.

On the second consecutive day on Tuesday, the four-member CBI team had a meeting with the EOU officials in Patna to get more information on the case. The team had meetings with EOU Additional Director General Nayyar Hasnain Khan and Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra.

EOU submitted to CBI an investigation report that includes the details of the accused, the method of paper leak, money transactions, and past records of the accused.

So far, the evidence collected by EOU includes pieces of a partially burnt question paper recovered from a play school, mobile phones of the arrested people, SIM cards, laptops, and post-dated cheques, sources informed The Hindu.

Plea in Patna Court:

Meanwhile, while considering the bail pleas of these 13 accused on Tuesday, the Patna Court comprising Additional District Judge Rajendra Kumar Singh asked the accused to seek bail from the Special CBI Court as the Central Agency is now probing the matter. An anticipatory bail plea was also filed by one of the key accused, Sanjiv Mukhiya, who is still absconding.

"The hearing of the bail plea of 13 accused and the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused, Sanjeev Mukhiya, will be held in the Special CBI Court on July 15," said the Public Prosecutor Uday Shankar Singh.

Sources informed the Daily that Bihar Police and EOU submitted evidence to the CBI indicating that the paper was leaked 48 hours before the exam. 

Bihar-linked NEET Admits Traced in Maharashtra: 

Business Standard has reported that the Maharashtra Police, which recently uncovered a NEET-UG racket in Latur district, have now found more than a dozen admit cards belonging to students from Bihar.

As per a report by The Economic Times, a senior police officer informed that many admit cards from Bihar have been shared among the accused in WhatsApp conversations.

"It is suspected that these students could have travelled to centres in Maharashtra to take the NEET-UG. The admit cards of students from Maharashtra taking exams in Bihar centres have also been found. These chats are being studied to investigate the purpose and to unearth the modus operandi," the police officer informed.

The officer further informed that the probe aims to determine whether the accused directed the students to specific centres in either State, which may have been compromised. Students at these locations might have received answers in exchange for money. 

As per sources cited in the report, the investigation in Maharashtra uncovered that parents paid amounts ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh to the suspects for improving the scores of their children.

"There are different rate cards. The accused teachers would take an advance and the rest were paid once the result was out. The money trail is being investigated to find out how the bribe was distributed. The money trail will ascertain if the gang was restricted to only these four or if there was a larger inter-state gang at play," the officer added.

After receiving the information from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, the Latur police registered a case against Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav, Jalil Khan Umar Khan Pathan, Eranna Mashnaji Konalwar, and Gangadhar Gunde. Among these accused, Jadhav and Pathan are district council teachers and they also give private tuition classes. They were arrested and are being held in police custody until July 2.

As per the Daily, the Latur gang employed at least four methods including impersonation, selecting exam centres where the gang or their associates were stationed, and providing the correct answers to selected students during the last 30 minutes of the exam to deceive the parents.

In some cases, the accused tampered with the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets by having staff member, such as a peon, take the answer sheet under the guise of a bathroom break, fill in the correct answers, and then scan the sheet. Another method was to leak the exam papers.

"However, the probe into the Maharashtra case has not shown any leads of leaked papers being shared. Since the probe is at the nascent stage and with the accused not cooperating, the probe is still underway," added the official.

Also Read: NEET 2024 paper leak case: CBI collects all material evidence from Bihar Police, FIR registered