The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed its first chargesheet in the NEET paper leak case, naming 13 accused, officials said on Thursday.
Those charged in the chargesheet include Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar, and Ayush Raj.
The case, initially registered at the Shastri Nagar Police Station in Patna, has been handed over to the CBI and is being investigated under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 120-B, 201, 409, 380, 411, 420, and 109.
The probe agency mentioned that the investigation into alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam remains ongoing. The central probe agency has registered six FIRs related to the case.
To date, the CBI has arrested 40 individuals, including 15 previously apprehended by Bihar Police, and has carried out searches at 58 different locations.
Among the six FIRs, one filed in Bihar addresses a paper leak, while the others from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra involve cases of candidate impersonation and cheating. The CBI’s own FIR, initiated on a reference from the Union Education Ministry, calls for a comprehensive investigation into the alleged malpractices in the NEET-UG 2024.
The NEET-UG exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), serves as an entrance test for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions. This year’s exam took place on May 5, spanning 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 international locations, with over 2.3 million candidates appearing for the test.