Accused in NEET paper leak provide names of masterminds, conflicting statements: Sources
PTC News Desk: A number of suspects detained in Patna’s Beur jail were questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about the NEET-UG paper leak case. According to sources, the most of the defendants confessed to being the case’s masterminds, Sanjeev Mukhiya and Sikandar Yadvendu.
According to authorities, there were numerous discrepancies in the statements made by the accused. On May 4, the day before the NEET-UG exam, Sanjeev Mukhiya was accused of housing close to twenty-five applicants at a boys’ dormitory connected to the Learn Play School in Patna. It is said that at the same hostel, the candidates received the exposed question paper and answer sheets.
Due to his involvement in the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) teacher recruitment exam paper leak, his son Shiv is already serving a jail sentence.
However, based on an investigation by the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU), Sikandar Yadvendu, a junior engineer at the Danapur municipal committee, is also a main suspect in the unauthorised distribution of NEET question papers.
Eighteen persons have been arrested in connection with the case by the EOU, which was looking into the matter before the CBI authorised a probe by the Center. On Thursday, the central agency made its first arrests in the case.
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Over 24 lakh students took part in the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) NEET-UG 2024, which was held on May 5 at 4,750 locations across 571 cities. On June 4, the results were announced.
However, students complained of anomalies as soon as the results were made public, citing question paper leaks in Bihar as the reason behind 67 pupils receiving top rankings. Since then, this has grown into a significant political topic.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, meanwhile, declared that no one would be saved by the Center and that an ongoing probe was underway.He claimed that the government of Bihar, the Supreme Court, and the Center were strict on the matter. Manjhi, a former chief minister of Bihar, continued, “It will also be ensured that such a thing does not happen in the future.”