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NEET-UG paper leak case: CBI arrests father-son from Nalanda and Gaya

On Tuesday, the NEET-UG paper leak investigation saw new arrests by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

NEET-UG paper leak case: On Tuesday, the NEET-UG paper leak investigation saw new arrests by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Ranjit Kumar from Gaya and Sunny Kumar from Nalanda, a NEET-UG candidate, were taken into custody by the investigating agency. The father of candidate Sunny Kumar is Rajnit Kumar. As of Tuesday, officials said, the agency had made 11 arrests in all.

According to officials, the CBI has so far detained eight persons in connection with the Bihar NEET-UG paper leak case, one person about each of the alleged rigging incidents in Latur and Godhra, Gujarat, and one person from Dehradun about the shared conspiracy.

In a related case, the agency had already detained the vice-principal and principal of the Oasis School in Hazaribagh as well as two men who were reportedly involved in providing NEET aspirants with secure premises, from where the Bihar Police had retrieved burned question papers.

Six FIRs have been filed by the CBI, which is looking into possible anomalies in the medical entrance exam. While the remaining FIRs from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra deal with in-place candidates and cheating, the Bihar FIR concerns a document leak.

According to the agency’s own FIR, there was a “comprehensive investigation” into possible anomalies in the exam, based on a reference from the Union Minister of Education.

On Monday, the Supreme Court requested a status report on the NEET UG exam from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and urged the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Center to file their affidavits with all relevant information by July 10.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) was questioned by the Supreme Court on Monday regarding the measures taken to identify applicants who benefited from the paper leak. The Court stated that there was no doubt that the NEET-UG, which was held on May 5, was compromised by a question paper leak.

The next hearing on the matter will be on July 11.

For admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other relevant courses in public and private universities, the NTA administers the NEET-UG. The exam was administered this year on May 5 at 4,750 locations throughout 571 cities, including 14 international destinations. More than 23 lakh applicants took the test.

(With agency inputs)