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Published 12:53 IST, June 24th 2024

NEET Scam LIVE Updates: More People Detained, Arrested in NEET Paper Leak Case, CBI Probe Underway

NEET Paper Leak Row LIVE Updates: Several arrests have been made in the NEET scam case. CBI reached Patna to collect evidences from Bihar EOU and met SSP Patna today. A total of 18 people have been arrested in the NEET paper leak connection. Get the latest breaking news on NEET plea hearing in Supreme Court, CBI probe, arrests and other updates here.

Reported by: Nandini Verma
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NEET row: CBI takes over five more cases in multiple states
NEET row: CBI takes over five more cases in multiple states | Image: PTI

19:25 IST, June 25th 2024

UP Cabinet Clears Ordinance to Curb Paper Leaks, Offenders to be Awarded Life Imprisonment

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday cleared an ordinance to prevent question paper leaks and use of unauthorised means in exams, awarding jail term of two years to life imprisonment and fines up to Rs 1 crore.


19:14 IST, June 25th 2024

NEET Paper Leak Row: Zilla Parishad School Teacher Remanded in Police Custody Till July 2

A court in Latur city of Maharashtra on Tuesday remanded a Zilla Parishad school teacher identified as Sanjay Jadhav in the custody of police till July 2 in connection with the alleged NEET-UG exam irregularities. Of the four accused in the case, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has so far arrested Zilla Parishad school headmaster Jalil Khan Umar Khan Pathan and detained Jadhav after it emerged that at least four persons operated a racket to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the exam.

Pathan was on Monday remanded in police custody till July 2.



14:37 IST, June 25th 2024

From Technical Assistant to Fugitive: Sanjeev Mukhiya and the NEET Paper Leak

Sanjeev Mukhiya hails from the Nalanda district in Bihar and has a long history of involvement in exam fraud. Formerly a technical assistant at Nalanda College's Noorsarai branch, Mukhiya has been linked to several high-profile exam leaks, including the 2016 Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) constable recruitment exam. His operations allegedly extend across multiple states, affecting various recruitment exams from constable positions to teacher posts. Read More.


12:57 IST, June 25th 2024

Key Accused Sanjiv Mukhiya Anticipatory Bail Hearing Today

The main accused in the NEET paper leak scam, Sanjiv Mukhiya has been granted no coercive action by Patna Court. Hearing on his anticipatory bail will be done today. 



12:55 IST, June 25th 2024

Cyber Fraud Syndicate in Nalanda Busted By Bihar EOU

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar has filed an FIR following the arrest of Rajiv Kumar, a key suspect in the NEET scam. Kumar has confessed to his involvement in a sophisticated cyber fraud operation and the management of fake bank accounts. During the interrogation, Kumar admitted to running a cyber syndicate based in Nawada. Read more. 


11:09 IST, June 25th 2024

Accused Involved in Manipulating NEET Candidates' Scores: Police

The police have arrested Sanjay Jadhav, who was taken into custody last evening. He is scheduled to be presented in court today. Out of the four individuals named in the FIR, two have been arrested, while the other two remain at large. Police sources revealed that the accused were involved in manipulating students' scores in the NEET exam in exchange for money. The investigation, conducted by the Latur police and the Crime Branch, is focused on understanding how the accused managed to boost students' scores and the operational methods they employed. Read more.
 


11:08 IST, June 25th 2024

2 More Detained in Latur

Latur police have detained two additional individuals for questioning. This brings the total number of those detained to six, with four individuals already named in the FIR. According to police sources, the two newly detained individuals were working under the instructions of Jaleel Pathan, a key figure in the investigation.
 


00:31 IST, June 25th 2024

CBI takes over NEET case from Bihar Police, collects all material evidence

The CBI on Monday collected all material evidence related to the alleged NEET-UG paper leak case from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar police, which had been handling the probe until the federal agency took over.

According to sources, a two-member CBI team, comprising a DIG and deputy SP rank officer, reached the state capital from Delhi and went straight to the EOU office. They are likely to stay here for a couple of days.

The CBI sleuths, who discussed the case with EOU officials after formally taking over the probe, also met officials of Shastri Nagar Police station here, where the first case had been lodged on May 5 after the arrest of a number of persons in connection with the paper leak case, sources said.

The EOU arrested a total of 18 people in connection with the case, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, his associates, a few aspirants and their parents.

"The CBI collected all material evidence related to the case from the EOU. The pieces of evidence included a partially burnt question paper recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference question papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA)," a source said.

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 CBI investigators met officials of the Shastri Nagar Police Station since the matter was first investigated by them before it was handed over to the EOU. Officials of that police station had recorded the confessional statements of several accused, sources said.

The central agency sleuths are expected to record the statement of all those arrested in a day or two and may take them to Delhi for detailed interrogation by obtaining transit remand from a court here, sources said.

The CBI is also likely to file FIRs in connection with destruction of evidence, and register disproportionate assets (DA) cases against some of those accused who are public servants, they said.

"A DA case may be registered against arrested accused Sikander Yadvendu, a junior engineer in the Danapur Town Council. He reportedly acquired huge assets that are disproportionate to his known source of income," a source said.

Yadvendu has a history of involvement in criminal activities and had served a jail term, he said.


00:31 IST, June 25th 2024

NEET row: CBI takes over five more cases in multiple states; Mamata Banerjee writes to PM

The CBI 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, as the political storm intensified with the opposition gearing up to confront the government in Parliament on the paper leak issue.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra has arrested a Zilla Parishad school headmaster from Latur and detained a teacher after it emerged that at least four persons allegedly operated a racket to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the exam.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider abolishing NEET, the national-level medical entrance exam introduced in 2013, and reverting to the system of states conducting the exam in the wake of the paper leak row.

Several opposition MPs said on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha that the government will have to answer on the issue in Parliament as it is causing hardship to lakhs of students.

As Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan proceeded to take oath in Lok Sabha, members of the opposition shouted "NEET, NEET".

Amid protests and litigation, the Centre had on Saturday shunted out National Testing Agency (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.

Pradeep Singh Kharola took the additional charge of NTA on Monday and had meetings with officials of the testing body.

The 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 met on Monday evening.

"The panel met today and was apprised of the current processes and functioning of the agency. The panel also looked into the statistics provided by NTA about the multiple exams conducted by it and the number of candidates appearing for each exam," a source said.


22:29 IST, June 24th 2024

Amid NEET Row, UPSC Decides to Use AI-Based CCTV Surveillance to Prevent Cheating

Amid the raging controversies over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG and NET exams, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has decided to use facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence-based CCTV surveillance system to prevent cheating and impersonation in its various exams. 


22:09 IST, June 24th 2024

Possibility of Question Paper Leak During Transportation Can't Be Ruled Out, Says Bihar Police

A two-member CBI team arrived in Bihar's capital Patna on Monday to commence its investigation into the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. Meanwhile, the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has not ruled out the possibility of the question paper being leaked during its transportation in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh.


19:55 IST, June 24th 2024

NEET Paper Leak Case: Principal of Zilla Parishad School in Latur Arrested

In the probe related to the NEET paper leak case in Maharashtra, the Principal of the Zilla Parishad School in Latur, identified as Zalil Pathan has been arrested. The accused principal was presented before the court, from where he was remanded to the police custody till 2nd July.


18:55 IST, June 24th 2024

CBI Takes Over 5 Cases From Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan Pertaining to Alleged NEET-UG Scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over 5 cases from Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan pertaining to alleged malpractices in NEET-UG, the officials confirmed. The CBI took over a total of 5 cases related to NEET exam from Bihar, Godhra in Gujarat and three from Rajasthan. The CBI took the files of all the cases from the local police and started investigation. Among these five cases, the main exam leakage conspiracy module case is allegedly from Bihar.

The cases of Gujarat and Rajasthan are cases of getting someone else to appear in the exam in place of the candidate or cheating.


18:14 IST, June 24th 2024

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Writes to PM Modi, Says Abolish NEET, Revert to Old System

Amid the NEET-NET paper leaks row that has affected tens of thousands of students, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider giving states "freedom to select medical students through Joint Entrance Examination". In a letter to the PM, Banerjee said that allegations of paper leak, taking bribes by certain people and the officials involved in the conduct of the examinations are some serious issues that require a thorough, clean and impartial probe.


14:55 IST, June 24th 2024

How NTA's Digital Lock For NEET-UG Question Papers Failed At Exam Centres

Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has revealed that digital locks on question paper boxes sent by the National Testing Agency (NTA) malfunctioned, leading to manual unsealing at various examination centers. This malfunction caused delays and irregularities during the distribution of exam papers on May 5.

The digital locks, designed to open automatically just before the exam, failed at numerous centers. As a result, officials had to open the boxes manually, delaying the start of the examination and affecting the timely distribution of question papers to candidates. Read More.


14:03 IST, June 24th 2024

Fresh Plea in SC Seeking ED Probe in NEET Case

Students alleging irregularities in the conduct of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 have filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. The petitioners have demanded that the ED should take up the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Read More. 


13:02 IST, June 24th 2024

FIR Against Delhi-Based Trainers at Coaching Institute

The FIR registered by the Maharashtra police also names Gangadhar and Iranna Kongalwar - a trainer at a coaching institute in Nanded. The case has been filed on the charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Gangadhar, based in Delhi, helped Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Umarkhan Pathan contact prospective candidates willing to pay a hefty amount for assured success in the exam. Read More. 


13:00 IST, June 24th 2024

Case Filed Against 2 Teachers In Maharashtra's Latur

A case has been filed against two Maharashtra school teachers for their alleged involvement in the NEET paper leak case. The FIR against the two has been registered in Maharashtra's Latur.  Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Umarkhan Pathan were picked up by the Nanded Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) yesterday and questioned. They used to teach in Zilla Parishad schools and also run private coaching centres in Latur. The ATS has found some hall tickets and evidence of money transactions in one of the teacher's phone. 

Both Jalil Umarkhan Pathan and Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav were later released after hours-long questioning. Police discovered admit cards and WhatsApp conversations of multiple students on their phones. Both men were frequently communicating with a person in the national capital. 


13:04 IST, June 24th 2024

CBI Team Visits Patna To Collect Evidences of NEET Paper Leak From Bihar EOU

A  two-member team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrived in Patna to advance their investigation into the NEET-UG paper leak case. The team is engaged in discussions with CBI officials from the Bihar-Jharkhand region at the Patna CBI office to strategize their next steps.

In a coordinated effort, two CBI officers stationed in Patna have also visited the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) office, holding talks with the DIG to gather further information. This visit is crucial as the CBI team plans to collect all pertinent evidence related to the case from the EOU, which had been investigating the matter until the central government ordered a federal probe. Read More. 


12:50 IST, June 24th 2024

Rajasthan High Court Seeks Response From NTA, Centre on NEET Cancellation Plea

The Rajasthan High Court heard a plea on the NEET exam controversy, with Justice Ashok Kumar Jain presiding over the case. The court has sought responses from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the central government regarding the issues raised in the petition. The High Court acknowledged that the matter is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the case on July 8. Consequently, the Jaipur High Court has set the next hearing for July 10. Read more. 
 


12:48 IST, June 24th 2024

Supreme Court to hear NEET plea shortly

The Supreme Court will shortly hear a plea against the National Testing Agency (NTA). The case, listed as Diary No. 27585-2024, titled Sabareesh Rajan versus National Testing Agency (NTA) and Others, will be heard by a bench comprising Hon'ble Mr. Justice Abhay S. Oka and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal. Advocate Divakar Kumar is representing the petitioner. Read full story here. 
 

Updated 19:25 IST, June 25th 2024