NEET Paper Leak Scandal: CBI's First Charge Sheet Names 13 Key Accused

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed its first charge sheet in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) exam paper leak probe.

Thirteen accused persons were named in the charge sheet, with investigations still ongoing.

Photo Credit: PTI

NEET Paper Leak Scandal Update: 13 Key Accused

The federal agency issued a statement highlighting the use of advanced forensic techniques, artificial intelligence, CCTV footage, and tower location analysis to gather evidence against the accused. So far, 40 individuals have been arrested, including an alleged mastermind from a Hazaribagh school, and several MBBS students who acted as solvers, and facilitators, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The individuals named in the first charge sheet include Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar-1, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar-2, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar, and Ayush Raj.

The anti-corruption probe agency initiated a larger conspiracy investigation into the leak on June 23, following a reference from the Union Ministry of Education, as reported by Hindustan Times. The ministry reported irregularities, cheating, impersonation, and other malpractices in the exam. Special teams were formed to investigate the leaks across different states, and raids were conducted at 58 locations over the past 39 days.

A CBI spokesperson reiterated the use of advanced forensic techniques and artificial intelligence technology in gathering evidence against the accused. The spokesperson added that further investigations are continuing against other suspects, and supplementary charge sheets will be filed as the investigation progresses.

Last month, the Supreme Court instructed the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Central government to submit affidavits detailing their actions and requested a status report from the CBI. Acknowledging the compromise in the NEET-UG exam due to the question paper leak, the Supreme Court directed the NTA to outline measures taken to identify beneficiaries of the leak, as per media reports.

The Union government, in its affidavit, stated that there was no large-scale breach of confidentiality in the pan-India examination and opposed the re-conduct of the exam. The government argued that re-conducting the exam would disrupt the academic calendar and is unnecessary due to the lack of widespread evidence of malpractice.

The 2024 NEET-UG, conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other related undergraduate courses across India, has faced numerous allegations, including question paper leaks, inflated marking, and arbitrary allowance of grace marks. These issues have led to nationwide protests by thousands of students.

This year's examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with 2.3 million candidates appearing for it, as per media reports. The results declared on June 4, raised further suspicions when 67 candidates achieved perfect scores of 720, with several of them belonging to the same examination centre. Following the controversy, the Union government has replaced the head of the NTA.