CBI files third chargesheet in NEET UG-2024 paper leak case against 21 accused

A view of the CBI office complex in New Delhi. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday (October 5, 2024) filed a third chargesheet against 21 accused in the special court for CBI cases in Patna in connection with the question paper theft case for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024.

Earlier, on September 20, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against six accused in the case. With the latest development, the total number of accused in the case now stands at 40 as the CBI had already filed the first chargesheet against 13 accused on August 1, 2024.

According to sources in the CBI, Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a resident of Bokaro and a civil engineer, who was arrested on charges of stealing the NEET UG question paper from the trunk of the National Testing Agency (NTA) at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, was identified as one of the identifies main defendant. He was with a man named Raju Singh who helped him steal the newspaper.

On July 16, the CBI had sealed the Raj Guest House at Ramnagar locality under Katkamdag police station limits when Pankaj and Raju Singh were arrested.

The CBI has been investigating the theft and leak of NEET UG 2024 question paper since June 23, 2024 after taking over case No. 358/2024 dated 05.05.2024 registered under Sections 407/408/409/120 . B) of IPC, at Shastrinagar (Patna) Police Station, Bihar.

The six accused in the second charge sheet were Baldev Kumar alias Chintu, Sunny Kumar, Dr. Ahsanul Haque (Principal of Oasis School, Hazaribagh and NTA City Coordinator of Hazaribagh), Mohammad Imtiyaz Alam (Deputy Principal of Oasis School and Testing Center). Superintendent), Jamaluddin alias Jamal (Reporter of a Hindi newspaper, Hazaribagh) and Aman Kumar Singh.

The investigation had revealed that Pankaj Kumar had illegally accessed the question paper from Oasis School on the morning of May 5, 2024, in connivance with the NTA city coordinator of Hazaribagh, who was also the principal of Oasis School, and the superintendent of the testing center , who was also the head of Oasis School, vice president of the school and another employee from Hazaribagh.

Earlier, the CBI had revealed that the suitcases containing the NEET UG 2024 question papers were brought to the school on the morning of May 5, 2024 and kept in the control room and illegally gave the mastermind access to the room where the suitcases were kept. The sophisticated tools used to open the trunk and access the questionnaires were also confiscated by the central authority.

The investigation revealed that Dr. Ahsanul Haque, the principal of Oasis School, in his capacity as NTA city coordinator for the NEET exam along with Md. Imtiyaz Alam, the deputy principal of the school and head of the examination center, had accused others of stealing the question paper in a conspiracy.