NEET-UG Paper Leak: CBI Arrests Four MBBS Students of AIIMS Patna

New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday arrested four MBBS students of AIIMS Patna in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, officials said.

Three students of MBBS third year -- Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu -- and one second year student -- Karan Jain -- were arrested after detailed questioning by a CBI team, they said.

The students were taken away from their hostel rooms on Wednesday in the presence of senior faculty members of AIIMS who were informed in advance that the students needed for the probe, the officials said.

The agency has sealed their hostel rooms, they said.

"The CBI has taken away four students. Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu are third year students and Karan Jain is a second year student," AIIMS Patna Director G K Paul said.

He said a senior officer had sent them photographs and mobile numbers of students who were required in the probe.

A team of CBI picked up the students in the presence of dean, hostel warden, and OSD to Director, Paul said.

The move comes two days after the CBI arrested Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.

Kumar, a resident of Bokaro, was arrested from Patna, officials had said.

The CBI had also arrested one Raju Singh who allegedly helped Kumar in stealing the paper, they said, adding that Singh was arrested from Hazaribagh.

The CBI, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has lodged six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leak while the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are regarding impersonation of candidates and cheating.

The agency's own FIR on a reference from the Union education ministry pertains to a "comprehensive investigation" into the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024.

The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. This year, the exam was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the test. 

What Happened in Supreme Court Today? 

Supreme Court directed the NTA to publish the results of NEET-UG 24 exam on its official website city-wise and centre-wise masking the identity of the candidates. The results will be declared on July 20 before 12 noon.

“ We direct the NTA to publish the marks obtained by students in the NEET-UG 24 exam while ensuring that the identity of the students is masked...The results should be declared separately city and centre- wise. Results will be uploaded by 12 Noon on Saturday” CJI said.

The hearing will resume on Monday. A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard a batch of over 40 pleas related to the NEET-UG 2024 exam today.

During the NEET re-examination plea hearing on July 18, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud remarked that individuals profiting from the NEET paper leak would not circulate the leaked papers widely. This assertion came amid heated exchanges between Advocate Narendra Hooda, representing the petitioners, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, and the CJI.

 The hearing, initially scheduled for July 11, was postponed as some parties had not yet received responses from the Centre and the NTA. During the prior hearing, the bench acknowledged receipt of a status report from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the investigation into the alleged paper leak and stated that it would be considered in today's session. (With inputs from PTI)