The Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has handed over the investigation of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam to the CBI, following the arrest of a key “solver gang” member.
Baldev Kumar, alias Chintu, received a PDF of the solved question paper on May 4, a day before the exam, on his phone. He was among five individuals arrested from Jharkhand’s Deoghar district and subsequently sent to judicial custody by a Patna court.
Baldev Kumar is linked to the alleged gang leader, Sanjeev Kumar, who remains at large. The EOU statement revealed that the gang had received the solved question papers for the NEET UG-2024 exam on their mobiles.
Baldev, living in Patna, along with Mukesh Kumar, Panku Kumar, Rajeev Kumar, and Paramjit Singh, formed groups of candidates to memorize the answers. These candidates were discreetly transported using a taxi operated by Mukesh Kumar.
The investigation found partially burnt papers at Learn Boys Hostel and Play School in Patna, linked to the leak. The National Testing Agency (NTA) confirmed that the seized half-burnt question paper matched the serial code of the exam center in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, indicating tampering.
Further probing revealed duplicate SIMs and suspicious envelopes, suggesting an inter-state gang operation. The EOU continues to investigate, having identified 15 suspicious candidates, with four already interrogated.
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