NEET case updates: CBI conducts searches at 7 locations in Gujarat
Ahmedabad: In the latest update on the NEET case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at seven locations in Gujarat.
Speaking to PTI, the officials informed that the operation began in the morning at the premises of suspects spread across four districts -- Anand, Kheda, Ahmedabad and Godhra.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested the principal and the vice-principal of a school in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh and a journalist of a Hindi newspaper in connection with the National-Eligibility-Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak, officials had said.
Also Read:NEET paper leaks case: CBI arrests 2 individuals from Patna
Ehsanul Haque, the principal of Oasis School, was made the city coordinator of Hazaribagh for the medical entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, they said.
Vice-principal Imtiaz Alam was designated as the NTA's observer and the centre coordinator for Oasis School, the officials said, adding that the CBI was also questioning five more people from the district in connection with the leak.
Jamaluddin Ansari, the journalist, was arrested for allegedly trying to help the principal and the vice-principal, the officials said on Saturday, reports PTI.
The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET-UG paper leak case, which include its own FIR on a reference from the Union education ministry and five from the states where it took over the investigation.
The probe agency has taken over one case each in Bihar and Gujarat and three in Rajasthan.
This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam came to the light. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that 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, during the case proceedings, NTA earlier decided to withdraw the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates and hold an optional retest for those candidates. Those who did not opt for the retest were allowed to retain their original marks, without the grace marks.
The matter is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of investigation in the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities / cheating / impersonation / malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," the Ministry of Education stated in a release.
