After Hazaribagh, CBI shifts its focus to Patna
Seven suspects, including three arrested from Hazaribagh, will now be taken to CBI’s Delhi headquarters for further questioning.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday wrapped up the first phase of its probe into the alleged NEET-UG exam paper leak in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, and has shifted focus on the suspects lodged in the jails across Bihar and Gujarat, officials familiar with the matter said.
A day after the federal agency arrested the principal and vice principal of a school in Hazaribagh in connection with the alleged paper leak, CBI sleuths wrapped up their makeshift office in Chari area of the district on Saturday.
Seven suspects, including three arrested from Hazaribagh, will now be taken to CBI’s Delhi headquarters for further questioning.
A Jharkhand police officer, who assisted CBI, said: “The CBI probe is not over in Hazaribagh, which has emerged as the main source for the leak. Because of issues related to remand time for all suspects, and those arrested from different places, CBI team has left Hazaribagh for now. The arrested people will now need to be confronted with other accused.”
ALSO READ| CBI arrests fifth accused in NEET question paper leak case, 3 on 4-day remand
Over the last six days, the federal agency has questioned officials from Oasis school, the Nutan Nagar Blue Dart courier, State Bank of India, and teachers from four different schools in Jharkhand to identify the source of the leak. Of the at least 20-25 suspects who were questioned at the rest house, CBI has arrested three, including principal of Oasis School Ehsanul Haque and vice principal Imtiaz Alam, and media marketing in-charge of a Hindi daily Jamaluddin.
Haque was the Hazaribagh district coordinator for the medical entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5. Alam was an NTA observer and centre coordinator at the Oasis School for the medical exam that has been embroiled in a raging controversy.
The two came under the scanner after a half-burnt question paper of NEET- UG, 2024 was recovered from a private school located in Ramakrishna Nagar of Patna on May 5, hours after the exam ended. On June 23, a three-member probe team of Bihar police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) visited the school and inquired about the conduct of the test and the mechanism to open digital locks of question paper boxes. A CBI team detained Haque after questioning on Wednesday.
Haque has denied any tempering of the question paper in Hazaribagh and termed the allegations baseless.
An employee at the Nutan Nagar based Blue Dart office confirmed that the local branch employees have been directed to appear before the investigating office whenever they are summoned. “Two employees were questioned. They have given their statement and identification papers. CBI officials said they will send summons if needed,” he added.
It is from this Blue Dart courier branch that the NEET-UG question papers were first received from the Ranchi Airport and sent to the State Bank of India branch on May 3. In a statement, Blue Dart said that they are cooperating with the probe agencies.
Separately, CBI is likely to seek custody of some of the 13 suspects, including Sikandar Prasad Yadvendu (56), a junior engineer employed with the Danapur Nagar Parishad, who are currently lodged in Beur jail in Patna district.
The official said: “The arrested media professional, Jamaluddin, will be confronted with Yadvendu and another arrested suspect, Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar. Amit Anand is a man, who runs a non-registered educational consultancy in Patna. He was in touch with both Yadvendu and absconding main accused, Sanjeev Mukhia aka Lutan Mukhia. Jamaluddin appears to be the main link connecting Hazaribagh’s Oasis school with the paper leak gang members.”
The 2024 NEET-UG, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS and other related undergraduate courses across India, has been beset with a series of allegations ranging from question paper leaks, inflated marking and arbitrary allowance of grace marks – issues that have become a nationwide flashpoint for political parties, leading to thousands of students protesting for weeks. This year’s examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with 2.3 million candidates appearing for it.