The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) interrogated 20 accused in the NEET UG paper leak case at Beur jail in Bihar’s Patna on Sunday. Out of this, as many as 13 accused were arrested by Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU), and seven are under the remand of the CBI.
For questioning the 13 accused, the CBI sought special permission from the court.
Of the 13, six are allegedly part of the exam mafia, while four are candidates and three are parents.
Among those under CBI’s remand, the agency questioned a journalist from a daily newspaper along with Oasis School Principal Ehsanul Haque and Vice Principal Imtiaz Alam. They were brought to Patna from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand on charges of tampering with question papers.
After recording the separate statements of Chintu, Mukesh, Manish, and Mukesh earlier, cross-questioning was conducted face-to-face today. Several contradictions were found in the statements.
During interrogation, the agency scrutinised the bank details of Ehsanul Haque. The CBI also went through the call records of the three accused brought from Hazaribagh.
As per sources, the CBI may also take the accused to Delhi after preliminary interrogation.
Meanwhile, several other teams of the investigation agency are working to arrest Bihar NEET paper leak mastermind Sanjeev Mukhiya.
During Saturday’s interrogation, most of the accused took the names of Sanjeev Mukhiya and Sikandar Yadvendu, believed to be the masterminds in the case.
Sanjeev Mukhiya had allegedly accommodated nearly 25 candidates at a boys’ hostel, associated with the Learn Play School in Patna on May 4, a day before the NEET-UG exam. Reportedly, the candidates were provided with the leaked question paper and answer sheets at the same hostel.
His son, Shiv, is already jailed for involvement in the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) teacher recruitment exam paper leak.
On the other hand, Sikandar Yadvendu, a junior engineer at the municipal committee of Danapur, is another prime suspect involved in the illegal distribution of NEET question papers, according to an investigation by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police.
Source Agencies
