Arrests

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced Tuesday a major breakthrough in its investigation into the NEET-UG exam paper leak with the arrest of two men in Patna. Among the arrested is Pankaj Kumar, also known as Aditya, a Bokaro resident and 2017 civil engineering graduate from NIT-Jamshedpur. Kumar is accused of stealing a sealed question paper box from an aluminium trunk sent by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to Hazaribag after tampering with it. His arrest followed that of Rajkumar Singh, a guest house owner in Hazaribag, who allegedly assisted Kumar in stealing and passing the papers to exam mafias, according to sources. NIT Jamshedpur spokesperson Sunil Bhagat said it is difficult to comment on Kumar’s conduct during his college days. “The college has to visit the record book to know about his performance in the semester exams,” he said. The arrests could uncover the origin of the conspiracy and the extent of the nationwide network involved in the paper leak, according to sources. Earlier, the CBI arrested Ehsanul Haque, the sacked principal of Oasis School (NEET centre in Hazaribag), vice principal M Imtiaz Alam, and Hazaribag journalist Jamaluddin. Sources revealed that the private school principal and vice principal mentioned Rajkumar’s guest house during questioning. Journalist Jamaluddin allegedly provided Rajkumar’s name during his interrogation, linking them to the paper leak conspiracy. Some examinees were allegedly kept at Rajkumar’s guest house, where they were given the leaked questions and answers to memorize a day before the exam. Nine sets of question papers were dispatched from SBI Hazaribag to various exam centres. The papers received by Oasis School had tampered seals, leading to the discovery of the school’s involvement. NTA provided details about a partially-burnt question paper found at a play school in Patna’s Khemnichak area, which served as a safe house for medical aspirants.