NEET paper leak: CBI charge sheets principal, VP of Hazaribagh school

The principal and vice principal of the Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, allegedly conspired with others to steal the NEET-UG 2024 question paper, the CBI has alleged in its second charge sheet in the paper leak case that also names four others.

Officials said on Friday the charge sheet, naming Principal Ahsanul Haque, Vice Principal Mohd Imtiyaz Alam and four others, was filed before a special court in Patna.

In its report filed on Thursday, the CBI also named Aman Kumar Singh, Baldev Kumar, Sunny Kumar and a local journalist Jamaluddin. They were charged under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), Section 109 (abetment), Section 409 (criminal breach of trust), Section 420 (cheating), Section 380 (theft), Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), and Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property).

Additionally, the central probe agency levelled provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act against Haque and Alam.

Haque was appointed city coordinator for Hazaribagh and Alam was designated the centre superintendent by National Testing Agency for conducting conduct of NEET UG-2024 examination.

The CBI has arrested 48 individuals in connection with the case.

CBI has also identified the beneficiary candidates of this paper leak and shared their details with the National Testing Agency for necessary action.

The agency filed its first charge sheet against 13 accused on August 1.

The CBI alleged that Pankaj Kumar, one of the alleged masterminds, acted in connivance with Haque and Alam.

The trunks containing the NEET UG 2024 question papers were brought to the school and kept in the control room in the morning of May 5.

Haque and Alam illegally allowed Kumar to access the room where the trunks were kept, the CBI has alleged.

Using sophisticated tools, Kumar allegedly opened the trunk to access the question papers from the trunk, it said.

According to the CBI, the paper was solved at Hazaribagh on the morning of examination of May 5 by a set of solvers studying in MBBS courses at AIIMS Patna, RIMS Ranchi and a Medical College in Bharatpur.

The agency has arrested seven alleged solvers and seized the equipment used to open the trunk.

"The solved paper was shared with certain selected students who paid money to the accused. All the solvers, who are MBBS students from reputed colleges, have been identified and most of them arrested. These solvers were specially brought to Hazaribagh as part of the conspiracy," the CBI spokesperson had said.

Other gang members who acted with Kumar have been identified and some of them arrested.

"This group was actively assisted by a set of accused persons who arranged places for housing the candidates, another set of accused were involved in mobilising and ferrying the candidates. The candidates who gained access to the solved question paper are being traced and necessary action is being taken," the CBI had said.

The 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.