The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at seven locations in Gujarat related to the NEET-UG paper leak case on Saturday, officials stated. The operation began in the morning and targeted the premises of suspects across four districts: Anand, Kheda, Ahmedabad, and Godhra.
On 28th June, the CBI arrested the principal and vice-principal of Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, as well as a journalist from a Hindi newspaper, in connection with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak. Ehsanul Haque, the principal of Oasis School, served as the city coordinator for Hazaribagh for the NEET-UG exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5. Vice-principal Imtiaz Alam was designated as the NTA’s observer and the centre coordinator for the school.
The central probe agency is also questioning five additional individuals from the district regarding the leak.
Jamaluddin Ansari, the journalist, was arrested for allegedly assisting the principal and vice-principal, according to officials on Saturday.
The CBI has registered six FIRs in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, including its own FIR following a reference from the Union education ministry and five from states where the agency has assumed control of the investigation. The probe agency has taken over one case each in Bihar and Gujarat, and three in Rajasthan.
NEET-UG, conducted by the NTA, is for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions. This year’s exam, held on May 5, took place at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates participating.
On 23rd June, the first CBI FIR was registered, a day after the ministry announced that it would transfer the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the exam’s conduct to the central agency.
