NEET-UG 2024 Paper Leak: CBI unveils sequence of events

NEW DELHI: Two days after the Supreme Court admitted that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 paper leak happened in Hazaribagh and Patna, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed the sequence of events involving the principal and vice principal of a school.

In a statement issued in its probe into the NEET paper leak, the CBI denied the speculative and false reports mentioned in a section of the media. Further, the CBI described the findings related to the investigation.

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The CBI said that the ‘mastermind’ Pankaj Kumar of this scam acted in collaboration with the Principal and the Vice Principal of Oasis School in Hazaribagh to access the question paper hours before the commencement of the exam on May 5. The CBI said Pankaj Kumar acted in connivance with Oasis School Principal Ehsanul Haque, also the NTA city coordinator, and Vice Principal Imtiaz Alam, who was the centre superintendent. Pankaj, who was absconding, was traced and arrested. The school Principal, Vice Principal, and the associate have been arrested.

Trunks containing the NEET-UG 2024 question papers were brought to the school on the morning of May 5 and kept in the control room. Minutes after the trunks arrived, Ehsanul Haque and Imtiaz Alam unauthorizedly and illegally granted Pankaj Kumar access to the room where the trunks were stored. Pankaj Kumar then used sophisticated tools to open the trunks and access the question papers. The trunks have since been seized.

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The stolen paper was then solved in Hazaribagh on the morning of the examination by a set of solvers who were studying MBBS courses at AIIMS Patna, RIMS Ranchi, and a Medical College in Bharatpur. The solved paper was shared with certain selected students who paid money to the accused. All the solvers, who are MBBS students from reputed colleges, have been identified, and most of them were arrested. These solvers were specially brought to Hazaribagh as part of the conspiracy, the CBI spokesperson said.

The agency has arrested seven alleged solvers. Other mastermind gang members who acted with Kumar have been identified, and some of them arrested. The CBI said that the candidates who gained access to the solved question paper are being traced, and necessary action is being taken. “The agency has so far arrested 36 persons,” it said.

After hearing a batch of pleas on irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024, the Supreme Court on Tuesday concluded that a retest would not be justified. However, the court admitted that the paper leak happened in Hazaribagh and Patna. During the proceedings, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also noted that ordering a fresh exam would have significant repercussions affecting over 24 lakh students who appeared in the exam.