Status report of probe in NEET paper leak case sent to Centre, says top official of Bihar EOU
So far, 18 people have been arrested in the case, including 13 from Patna and five from Jharkhand; searches are continuing, evidence has been sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory in Delhi, says the police official
Multiple players are involved in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG 2024) paper leak case and evidence collected in the course of investigation is being examined, a highly placed source in the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) told The Hindu on June 23.
The official also confirmed that a status report on the investigation was sent to the Union Education Ministry on Saturday.
Evidence has been sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory in Delhi and EOU teams are conducting raids at places linked to the case. The team had visited neighbouring Jharkhand and picked up six persons from Deoghar on Friday night.
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So far, 18 people have been arrested in the case, including 13 from Patna and five from Jharkhand. One person, Kaju alias Prashant Kumar, has been not shown in the list of arrested persons yet.
“Though we received the details from the National Testing Agency [NTA] late, we have conducted the follow-up investigation. Our team went to a few places in Jharkhand, including Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Deoghar. We got so much information, a lot of things were seized and many statements recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC. At present, the investigation is at a very sensitive stage,“ the source said.
The official also said that many aspects are being looked into and teams are scouring places of suspects for corroborative evidence.
Asked about the report submitted to the Ministry of Education, the official further said, “It’s only a status report of the investigation with no other material… just bare facts. At present it is not possible to share details because it may jeopardise the investigation.”
The role of Nalanda resident Sanjeev Mukhiya, who had been arrested in earlier paper leak cases, is under scanner. Sharing information about Mr. Mukhiya who is believed to be the kingpin in the case and presently absconding, the official said, “Mukhiya is part of an organised crime syndicate and there are multiple players involved in it. So, calling him the kingpin is premature but he also had some role because he had already been involved in the earlier paper leak cases. He had a role and we have leads in that direction.”
Mr. Mukhiya was arrested for leaking a paper of the constable recruitment exam conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission in 2016.
The official said the EOU got crucial evidence at the Oasis School in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, one of the exam centres the team visited on Friday and recorded the statement of the examination controller.
“The NTA also confirmed there was a connection because the serial number of the partially burnt question paper which we found from the play school in Khemnichak locality of Patna matched the question papers distributed in Oasis School. An inter-State professional gang is involved in the case. We will hand over the case files to the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] once they take up the case,“ the official said.
Meanwhile, the six people brought from Deoghar were taken for a medical test at a government hospital and produced before the Special Court before being sent to judicial custody.
CBI team attacked
A team of CBI probing the UGC-NET paper leak case was attacked by villagers in Nawada district of Bihar on Saturday. The Nawada Police on Sunday said four people were arrested. “Around 4:30 p.m. on June 22, Rajauli police station received information that a CBI team was gheraoed at Kasiyadih village and was manhandled. A police team rushed to the spot and escorted the team. Four persons were arrested,“ the official statement said.
Nawada Superintendent of Police Ambrish Rahul said the villagers mistook the CBI team for impersonators and manhandled them.
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