Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday issued a statement on its probe in the NEET paper leak case so far. According to the probe agency, paper leak case 'mastermind' Pankaj Kumar acted in collusion 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 and it was solved and sent to candidates who had hire his services.
The CBI said Pankaj, one of the alleged masterminds, acted in connivance with Oasis School Principal Ehsanul Haque, also the NTA City Coordinator, and Vice Principal Imtiaz Alam, who was the Centre Superintendent. All three have been arrested by the agency, it said.
The CBI said it could identify the centre using half burnt papers recovered from a hostel in Patna.
"The trunks containing the NEET UG 2024 question papers were brought to the school and kept in the control room in the morning of 05-05-2024. Minutes after the trunks arrived, the above said Principal and Vice Principal unauthorisedly and illegally allowed access to the room where the trunks were kept, to the mastermind named above. The sophisticated tools used to open the trunk and access the question papers from the trunk have been seized," a CBI spokesperson said.
The paper was solved at Hazaribagh on the morning of examination by a set of solvers who are studying in MBBS courses at AIIMS Patna, RIMS Ranchi and a Medical College in Bharatpur. The agency has arrested seven alleged solvers.
"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 arrested. These solvers were specially brought to Hazaribagh as part of the conspiracy," the CBI spokesperson said. Other masterminds gang members who acted with Pankaj have been identified and some of them arrested.
"This group was actively assisted by a set of accused persons who arranged places for housing the candidates, another set of accused were involved in mobilising and ferrying the candidates. The candidates who gained access to the solved question paper are being traced and necessary action is being taken," the CBI has said. The agency has so far arrested 36 persons, he said.
In a major setback to unsuccessful aspirants of NEET-UG 2024, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden exam, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was "vitiated" on account of "systemic breach" of its sanctity.
Highlights of the CBI probe
- CBI started investigating the NEET paper theft and leak case from June 23 2024
- CBI took over the FIR number 358/2024 registered at Shastrinagar police station in Patna
- The CBI investigation started by taking over the FIR of Patna Police registered under sections 407, 408, 409, 120B of the IPC
- Investigation revealed that the NEET paper was accessed by Pankaj alias Aditya i.e. Sahil on the morning of the paper on May 5 2024 from OASIS School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
- Pankaj is the mastermind who stole the paper in connivance with the school principal, ANTA coordinator, center superintendent vice principal
- Pankaj was absconding, whose location was traced and he was arrested, the school principal Ahsanulhaq, vice principal and other associates were also arrested by the CBI
- Through the burnt papers in Patna, CBI reached the Hazaribagh centre from where the paper was leaked
- Medical students from different medical colleges who were part of the solver gang were identified and arrested
- These solver students were specially brought to Hazaribagh on May 5, all of them are part of the leak conspiracy.
- Pankaj planned this crime and prepared a conspiracy and identified some more masterminds and arrested them too.
- This group was assisted by another group who planned the place for the candidates, a separate group was involved in mobilizing the candidates.
- Students who solved the paper illegally were identified and legal action was taken against them.
(With PTI inputs)
