NEET 'Paper Leak': Multiple Arrests, Lutan Mukhiya Gang's Role, High Drama At NTA Delhi Office | Probe So Far

NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

NEET-UG 'Paper Leak Row | Key Latest Updates

• What Is The NEET-UG 2024 Exam Issue: The NTA conducted the medical entrance test NEET-UG on May 5 across 4,750 centres across the country and around 24 lakh candidates appeared. The row erupted after results were out on June 4 and as many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA's history, with six from a centre in Haryana's Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities.

• Hgh Drama At NTA Building In Delhi: A mob of around 100 workers belonging to the Congress students union wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) has reportedly barged into the Delhi office of NTA, the central body which is mired in controversy over irregularities in the NEET medical entrance examinations. Visuals from outside NTA office showed a huge mob allegedly of NSUI workers storming into the NTA building, shouting and screaming.
  

  ALSO READ | NEET-2024: Bihar Police Finds Sanjeev Mukhiya Gang-Cybercriminals Nexus In Paper Leak

• CBI Probe: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which on Monday took over five new cases of alleged malpractices in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG that were being investigated by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar, made its first arrests in the paper leak case on Thursday. A seven-member panel set up by the Education Ministry headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the NTA's functioning and recommend exam reforms also met on Monday evening. Centre on Saturday removed NTA Director General Subodh Singh and handed over the probe into irregularities in NEET-UG to the CBI, which is now probing a total of six cases in the matter.

• Lutan Mukhiya Gang's Role: Notorious Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang has emerged to be the perpetrator of the alleged leak in the probe so far. Sanjiv Mukhiya, the Nalanda horticulture college employee identified as one of the absconding perpetrators of the NEET-UG paper leak in Bihar, is said to be a repeat offender with a network of collaborators that includes the arrested kingpin of a UP "solver gang", investigators revealed Wednesday.

• Arrests In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case: The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which was investigating the case before it was taken over by the CBI, on Tuesday announced that it has “concluded” its probe into the matter. The EOU arrested a total 18 people including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, his associates, a few aspirants and their parents in connection with the case. They are all in judicial custody now. CBI also arrested two from Patna in the NEET-UG paper leak case on Thursday.

ALSO READ | What Is NEET PG, Why Has It Been Postponed Amid NEET-UG Row & Protest By Candidates

• CBI's First Arrests: The CBI made first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case, taking into custody two persons from Patna, officials said Thursday. Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar allegedly provided safe premises to the aspirants before the examination where they were given leaked papers and answer keys, the officials said.
  

• Suspects Got Solved Answer Sheet In Phone: A special CBI court in Patna on Wednesday sent two accused in the NEET question paper leak case - Baldev alias Chintu Kumar and Mukesh Kumar - to CBI remand for three days. Chintu Kumar, who is associated with the notorious Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang, allegedly received the solved answer sheet of the NEET-UG in PDF format on his mobile phone a day before the exam, a news agency PTI report cited sources. Reportedly, Mukesh is also associated with the gang. Investigations revealed that Baldev and his associates printed and distributed the solved answer sheet to students gathered at a safe house in Ram Krishna Nagar in Patna on May 4 for memorisation, the sources said.

• CBI Finds Burnt Question Papers: It was learnt that the two-member CBI team also visited a house in Patna from where several of the accused were arrested and pieces of evidence were collected by the police on May 5 when the medical entrance test was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) across the country. The pieces of evidence included a partially burnt question paper, mobile phones of those arrested, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference question papers provided by the NTA.

ALSO READ | NEET, NET Controversy: Testing Times For India's Education System

• Jharkhand School Principal Grilled: A CBI team on Wednesday interrogated the principal of Oasis School Dr Ehsanul Haque in Jharkhand's Hazaribag. Haque was the district coordinator of the NEET-UG exam in Hazaribag. Sources cited by PTI said CBI team also visited the main branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in the district, as the manager of the bank was reportedly the custodian of the question papers. The bank had reportedly received the question papers sent by a courier service operator in an e-rickshaw, the sources said.

ALSO READ | Widespread Examination Paper Leaks: NEET UG 2024 And Beyond

• CBI Visits 2 Gujarat Schools: A CBI team on Wednesday visited two private schools in Gujarat's Kheda and Panchmahal districts, took photographs of the classrooms and checked the angle of CCTV cameras installed there as part of its probe, officials said.

• SC Notice To NTA On Plea By Learning App: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to NTA over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 on a petition filed by a learning app that claimed "inconsistent" calculation of marks on the OMR sheets. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti sought a response by July 8, when the hearing of the matter, along with other petitions in the NEET-UG controversy, will take place.