On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended the principal and vice principal of Oasis School located in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, in a case concerning the leakage of NEET-UG examination papers, as reported by officials.
The arrested principal, Ehsanul Haque, had been appointed as the city coordinator for Hazaribagh for the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted a medical entrance exam on May 5, as per sources.
Imtiaz Alam, the vice principal, was assigned the roles of the NTA’s observer and the centre coordinator at the Oasis School, with officials noting that the CBI is interrogating an additional five individuals from the district about the case.
After thorough interrogation, the arrests of Haque and Alam were executed by the CBI, sources detailed.
The focus turned to both individuals during an investigation by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police, who had previously handled the case. As per officials, this team discovered burnt question papers of NEET-UG at a solver gang’s hideaway.
In their declaration, the EOU disclosed that the “leaked” NEET-UG question paper purportedly sourced from Oasis School in Hazaribagh was linked to the infamous Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang.
As per investigators, a match was found between a partially burnt question paper retrieved from a hideout in Patna and a reference question paper from the NTA, confirming the leak’s source.
Nonetheless, officials mentioned that the direct source of the alleged leak remained unclear.
They also indicated that the protocols for opening the question paper boxes in Hazaribagh were not adequately adhered to.
In press interviews, Haque defended that the question paper box could not be opened due to a malfunction in its digital lock, claiming to have contacted the NTA, which advised using a cutter to open the box. These boxes are secured with a physical lock, which requires a key and cutter to open, and a digital lock that emits a beep sound 45 minutes before the exam.
The CBI has filed six FIRs related to the NEET-UG paper leak incident, initiating its investigation upon reference from the Union Education Ministry and assuming charge of five state-filed cases. This includes taking over investigations in one case in Bihar and Gujarat and three cases in Rajasthan.
The agency made its initial arrests in the case on Thursday, capturing two individuals in Patna and taking the statements of three candidates in Gujarat suspected of seeking assistance to pass the examination.
The NEET-UG, overseen by the NTA, is a crucial test for entry into MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other medical courses at both government and private institutions nationwide. This exam was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 international locations, with over 23 million participants.
The CBI’s initial FIR was lodged following the announcement by the ministry to delegate the probe into the alleged exam irregularities to the agency, a decision fueled by student protests demanding a thorough investigation.