NEET-UG paper leak: Amid arrest of students by CBI, AIIMS Patna director warns of action if found guilty

Following the arrest of students by CBI, AIIMS Patna Director has said the institute will take action if students are found guilty.

After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested four medical students from AIIMS Patna in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, Dr Gopal Krushna Pal, Director of AIIMS Patna said that the medical institute will take action if the students are found guilty.

NEET UG paper leak: AIIMS Director Dr Gopal Krushna Pal informed that a suspension order against the arrested students has been taken but has been kept in abeyance. (HT Photo)

Speaking with ANI, Dr Pal said, "The report that CBI has arrested them (medical students) is true. CBI has also given us information that our four students have been formally arrested. But still now, we have not got anything in writing..."

He further said, "Our administrative committee meeting was held today and we discussed the issue and the decision was that the students can be suspended, but subject again to the legal opinion. We are keeping this suspension order in abeyance until we receive any written document."

The AIIMS Director further said that when CBI's written reply comes that they have four students in judicial custody, we will wait for some time. "Till the students are not found guilty, we cannot take any decision that they will be suspended as it is a matter of their career. If they are found guilty, we will take action," Dr Pal said.

As per the CBI sources, the four accused, identified as Karan Jain, Kumar Sanu, Rahul Anand and Chandan Singh used to solve papers for the main accused, Pankaj Singh.

All the accused in the case have been sent to four days of CBI custody.

The CBI arrested two more people in connection with the case on July 16. The arrested persons were identified as Pankaj Kumar Singh and Raju Singh. They were arrested in Patna and Hazaribagh, respectively.

A senior CBI official informed that Pankaj managed to steal the question paper when it was shifted from Hazaribagh in a sealed iron trunk.

Pankaj is a civil engineer and completed his bachelor's in engineering degree from NIT Jamshedpur.

The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5, 2024, has been mired in controversy, with allegations of cheating and impersonation. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the exam, has faced severe criticism, leading to protests and legal actions. The Union Health Ministry has postponed the NEET-PG 2024 examination, with new dates to be announced soon.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted by NTA, is the pathway for admissions into MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The NEET-UG 2024 was held across 4,750 centres on May 5 and around 24 lakh candidates appeared in it.