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

Patna: Following the announcement from the Bihar police regarding the handing over of the NEET UG paper leak case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the CBI on Monday collected all material evidence related to the case from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar police, which had been handling the probe until the federal agency took over.

The material evidence collected by the CBI included a partially burnt question paper recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference question papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Also read- Handed Over NEET Case To CBI: Bihar Govt Issues Official Notification

As per Indian Express report, the EOU before transferring the case to the CBI in its probe recovered 68 questions and their serial numbers (out of a total of 200 questions) after examining the scrap pieces retrieved from the burnt remains of the alleged National Testing Agency's (NTA) question paper photocopy which were found from the residence of the arrested candidates. Following this, EOU submitted the burnt scraps with the original questions to the state's forensics laboratory to see if both evidence matched. 

Further, the EOU submitted its report to the Education Ministry on June 22, stating that the school's unique examination code originated from Oasis School, a private school affiliated with CBSE located in Jharkhand.

EOU said in a statement, “A copy of the reference question paper related to the semi-burnt question paper seized in Learn Boys Hostel and Play School has been made available by NTA. After receiving the desired report related to the Serial Code of the half-burned question paper seized from NTA in the evening of 20 June, 2024, it became clear that the half-burned question paper recovered from Learn Boys Hostel and Play School, Ramakrishna Nagar for the NEET UG-2024 examination. The serial code is of the examination centre of Oasis School Kallu Chowk, Mandai Road of District Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. This has been verified. In the course of verification, prima facie, the polybag suspected of packing the question paper from the concerned examination centre of Hazaribagh, the packing of the original question paper recovered from the concerned candidate and the preliminary investigation in the related packing trunk, all these have been found to be tampered with and all these Suspicious exhibits have been duly confiscated.”

According to PTI sources, a two-member CBI team, comprising a DIG and deputy SP rank officer, reached the state capital from Delhi and went straight to the EOU office. They are likely to stay here for a couple of days.

The CBI sleuths, who discussed the case with EOU officials after formally taking over the probe, also met officials of Shastri Nagar Police station here, where the first case had been lodged on May 5 after the arrest of several persons in connection with the paper leak case, sources said.

The EOU arrested a total of 18 people in connection with the case, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, his associates, a few aspirants and their parents.

“The CBI collected all material evidence related to the case from the EOU. The pieces of evidence included a partially burnt question paper recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference question papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA),” a source said.

The NTA conducted the medical entrance test NEET-UG on May 5 across 4,750 centres across the country and around 24 lakh candidates appeared.

The CBI investigators met officials of the Shastri Nagar Police Station since the matter was first investigated by them before it was handed over to the EOU. Officials of that police station had recorded the confessional statements of several accused, sources said.

The central agency sleuths are expected to record the statement of all those arrested in a day or two and may take them to Delhi for detailed interrogation by obtaining transit remand from a court here, sources said.

CBI registers FIR

The CBI has filed an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. 

The officials said that the CBI registered a fresh case against unidentified persons on a reference from the Union education ministry. They said the ministry had to give in to demands of students protesting in several cities for an investigation into alleged malpractices.

“Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractice have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on May 5,” a senior education ministry official said.

“For transparency in the conduct of the examination process, it was decided after a review that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive investigation,” the official added.

“A disproportionate assets (DA) case may be registered against arrested accused Sikander Yadvendu, a junior engineer in the Danapur Town Council. He reportedly acquired huge assets that are disproportionate to his known source of income,” a source said.

Yadvendu has a history of involvement in criminal activities and had served a jail term, he said.

Meanwhile, the political pot continued to boil in Bihar over the alleged irregularities in conducting the NEET exam.

The opposition RJD on Monday shared several photographs of the accused Amit Anand, Nitish Kumar and family members of Lutan Mukhiya with leaders of the ruling NDA and demanded a thorough probe into the “links” between the two sides. A few persons associated with the gang of Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya were arrested in connection with the case.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha last week claimed that the arrested prime suspect in the NEET “paper leak” is linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Student Unions Protest

Following the paper leak controversy around the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical undergraduates and the cancellation of UGC-NET due to "lack of integrity", the Students' Federation of India (SFI), Tribal Students Union (TSU), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Tribal Youth Federation (TYF) jointly organized a large-scale protest on Monday against rampant corruption in examinations that are held nationwide and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The demonstrators, comprising thousands of students and youth, took to the streets to voice their outrage over the repeated instances of corruption that have jeopardized the futures of millions of students.

As per ANI report, The protesters assembled in major cities, holding placards and chanting slogans, demanding the immediate resignation of the Union Education Minister.

They argue that the "minister's failure to address the issues within the examination system has led to widespread disillusionment and frustration among students, whose dreams and futures are being unfairly compromised".

Similarly, representatives from the DYFI, TSU, and TYF echoed these sentiments, calling for immediate and concrete measures to be taken to restore faith in the examination process.

Protesting students highlighted the emotional and psychological toll on students who prepare rigorously, only to find their efforts undermined by corrupt practices.

The protest, which saw participation from students and youth across different regions, also included calls for "comprehensive reforms in the examination system". These reforms, they argue, are "essential to ensure transparency, fairness, and the protection of students' rights".

Palash Bhoumik, the state President of DYFI said that they are here to protest against this government.

"SFI, DYFI, and TSU have jointly come together to protest against this government. This government has ruined the total education system. We have organized a large-scale protest against the rampant corruption in nationwide examinations. The demonstrators, comprising thousands of students and youth, took to the streets to voice their outrage over the repeated instances of corruption that have jeopardized the futures of millions of students," he said.

The NTA, which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA. 

The CBI on Monday took over five new cases of alleged malpractices in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG that were being investigated by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar, as the political storm intensified with the opposition gearing up to confront the government in Parliament on the paper leak issue.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider abolishing NEET, the national-level medical entrance exam introduced in 2013, and reverting to the system of states conducting the exam in the wake of the paper leak row.

Several opposition MPs said on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha that the government will have to answer on the issue in Parliament as it is causing hardship to lakhs of students.

As Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan proceeded to take oath in Lok Sabha, members of the opposition shouted "NEET, NEET".

Officials at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the agency has re-registered one case each from Gujarat and Bihar and three cases from Rajasthan as its own FIR. It is also likely to take up another case from Maharashtra's Latur.

Barring the case from Bihar, the other four appear to be isolated incidents of impersonation and cheating by local officials, invigilators and candidates, the officials said.

This year's National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 Examination was mired in controversies after the allegations of paper leak came into light. 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.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Meanwhile, NEET aspirants across the country have been protesting against the alleged paper leak issue in NEET UG 2024 and the National Testing Agency's policy of awarding grace marks to 1563 candidates. While finally the NTA decided to scrap the grace marks, the issue of alleged paper leak is still unsolved.

Although earlier, the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had denied such allegations of paper leak, recently he assured action against NTA officials if they were found guilty of the "irregularities" in the conduct of the MBBS entrance exam.

The NEET 2024 issue has now taken a political turn as opposition parties are accusing the government over the allegations of rigging, paper leaks, and corruption. Recently Congress leader Rahul Gandhi argued that the BJP-ruled states were the "epicentre of paper leak".

While hearing pleas concerning the NEET examination, the apex court had on June 18 said that even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

The Apex Court had also sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.

Also read- NEET PG 2024: Health Ministry, NBE Officials Review Exam Process 2 Days After Postponement