NEET-UG Exam Row: Mastermind Says Question Paper Sold for Rs 30-32 Lakh; BJP, RJD Trade Barbs Over ‘Link’ to Key Accused – News18

In a major development, the mastermind of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG 2024) paper leak case has reportedly confessed to selling the question paper a day before the exam.

Mastermind Amit Anand told the police that the question paper was sold from Rs 30-32 lakh, ABP News reported citing the confession of the accused. As per the report, Anand said the question paper and answer sheet were given to the candidates the same day and they were made to memorise the answers before the exam.

A resident of Munger district in Bihar, Amit Anand reportedly resided in a rented apartment in AG Colony, Patna, from where he conducted his operations.

So far, the Patna Police has arrested 13 persons, including six examination mafias, four students and three parents, in connection with the case. Of them, four have been identified as– NEET candidate Anurag Yadav, his uncle Sikandar Yadavendu, and two others – Nitish Kumar and Anand.

NEET-UG Exam Row Latest Updates

• Amid allegations of a paper leak, a NEET aspirant from Bihar has admitted to receiving the leaked question paper through his uncle, a Junior Engineer. In his confession letter, Anurag Yadav (22), a resident of Bihar’s Samastipur, said his uncle Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, an engineer deployed at Bihar’s Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad), asked him to return from Kota in Rajasthan, saying all arrangements for the exam had been done.
• “I returned from Kota and was taken to Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar by my uncle on the night of 04.05.24, where I was given the NEET exam question paper and answer sheet, which I was made to study and memorize overnight,” he said.
• Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has claimed that Anurag’s uncle Sikandar Yadvendu, who has already been arrested in connection with the case, is a close relative of Pritam Kumar, the personal secretary of former Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
• “Sikandar Yadvendu is a close relative of Tejashwi Yadav’s PS Pritam Kumar. An NHAI guest house was booked for Sikandar’s sister Reena Yadav and son Anurag Yadav to stay on May 4. A phone number and ‘Mantri Ji’ were mentioned in the diary of the NHAI guest house. The investigating agency is making efforts to know the identity of this Mantri Ji,” Sinha said.
• The investigation being conducted by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police has identified Sikandar Yadvendu, a junior engineer in the municipal committee of Danapur, as an accused in the NEET question paper leak case.
• The Rashtriya Janata Dal has, meanwhile, accused the BJP and JDU of links with other accused.
• Sinha, who also holds the road construction portfolio, said that he has ordered an inquiry into the booking of the NHAI guest house.
• “I am getting a thorough investigation done by my department to find out which officers or employees are working at the behest of Tejashwi Yadav. The entire system of RJD is based on crime and corruption,” Sinha said.
• The EOU has found evidence that the question papers of NEET 2024 were leaked. The examination was held on May 5 and the question paper was leaked a day earlier on May 4.
• Patna Police had found the roll numbers and roll codes of the 11 candidates linked with a solver gang. Later, when the case was transferred to the Economic Offences Unit (EOU), it asked the NTA to provide the details on all 11 candidates. After receiving the details, the notice was served to these candidates to join the probe.
• Earlier, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accepted that there were some irregularities in some places. He has said that if the senior officials of NTA are also found guilty in this, then strict action will be taken against them.
• “Candidates and parents should be assured. The Central government has taken this matter seriously. There is a need for improvement in NTA,” he said.