CBI arrests 2 more in NEET paper leak

NEW DELHI/PATNA: The CBI has arrested two more persons, including a candidate from Patna, in the NEET-UG paper leak case, taking the total number of arrests by the agency to 11.

NEET-UG aspirant Sunny who hails from Nalanda and father of another candidate Ranjit Kumar who is from Gaya have been arrested, the officials of the agency said.

So far, the CBI has so far arrested eight persons from Bihar and one each from Gujarat's Latur and Godhra and Uttarakhan's Dehradun in connection with the case. The agency had earlier arrested the principal and vice principal of Hazaribagh-based Oasis School and two persons, who allegedly provided safe premises to candidates where burnt questionnaires were found.

The Central agency which is probing the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has registered six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar pertains to leak of the papers while the remaining from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are linked to impersonation of candidates and cheating.

The Central agency on Monday took into custody one Nanjunethappa G. in connection with the Latur case which was earlier probed by Maharashtra Police. It is alleged that two government school teachers in Latur had demanded over '5 lakh from NEET-UG aspirants to ensure their success in the examination, the officials  said.

The agency's own FIR on a reference from the union education ministry pertains to a "comprehensive investigation" into the alleged irregularities in the examination.

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.