NEET UG 2024 Row: CBI arrests one of the kingpins in paper leak case

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday arrested one of the alleged kingpins in the NEET-UG paper leak case who was on the run ever since the crackdown on irregularities in the entrance exam began, officials said. Rockey alias Rakesh Ranjan, who hails from Nalanda, and is said to be a relative of mastermind Sanjeev Mukhia, was nabbed by the agency from outskirts of Patna, they said.

The CBI had been trailing him since the case came to the agency. His run came to an end Thursday morning when he was arrested by the agency, they said.

The agency produced him before a special court in Patna which has remanded him to 10 days of CBI custody, they said. The CBI conducted searches at three locations in Patna and nearby areas and one in Kolkata after his arrest, they said.

Earlier this week, the CBI had conducted searches at 15 locations in Bihar and Jharkhand gathering incriminating evidence in the case, they said. The agency had earlier arrested the principal and vice principal of Jharkhand's Hazaribagh-based Oasis school in the case and two persons who allegedly lent premises to NEET candidates where burnt question papers were recovered by the Bihar Police.

The CBI, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has registered six FIRs in the matter so far. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leaks, while the remaining, from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, are linked to the impersonation of candidates and cheating.

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 National Testing Agency 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.