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The CBI has arrested a total of 36 persons in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. (PTI Representative Photo)
Some recovered pieces of half-burnt question papers enabled the probe agency to reach the designated NEET examination centre from where it leaked
The Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) said in an official statement on Thursday that the NEET-UG 2024 question paper was illicitly accessed from the Oasis School in Hazaribagh on the morning of May 5 by one Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya alias Sahil, who is one of the masterminds in the case. The question paper was stolen in connivance with the Hazaribagh NTA City Coordinator Cum Principal of Oasis School and the Centre Superintendent Cum Vice Principal of Oasis School.
Trunks containing the NEET UG 2024 question papers were brought to the school on the morning of May 5 and stored in the control room. Minutes after the trunks arrived, the Principal and Vice Principal unauthorizedly and illegally gave Pankaj access to the room where the trunks were kept, who, in turn, used sophisticated tools to open the trunk and access the question papers. The trunks have been seized.
The stolen question paper was then solved in Hazaribagh by a set of solvers the same day and shared with certain selected students who paid money to the accused, the agency said.
Pankaj, who was absconding, was traced and arrested along with the school principal, vice principal and the associate. Some recovered pieces of half-burnt question papers enabled the probe agency to reach the designated NEET examination centre from where it leaked.
The candidates who obtained the solved question paper are being traced. All the solvers, who are MBBS students from reputed colleges, have been identified and most of them were arrested.
CBI has so far conducted searches at 33 places. So far 36 persons have been arrested in this case, including 15 by Bihar Police. Several incriminating evidence have been gathered so far. The investigation is currently underway.