New Delhi/Ahmedabad, The CBI on Thursday made its first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case, detaining two people in Patna, while three candidates in Gujarat who had allegedly sought help in clearing the exam recorded their statements before the investigation agency. officials said.
The two arrested accused, Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar, allegedly provided safe accommodation to the medical entrance exam aspirants before the exam and provided them with leaked question papers and answer keys, they said.
Both were produced before a special court in Patna which sent them to judicial custody, officials said, adding that the CBI will now seek remand of the duo for interrogation.
Ashutosh Kumar had allegedly rented 'Learn Boys Hostel and Play School' in Patna, from where the Economic Crimes Unit of the Bihar Police had recovered half-burnt question papers of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Undergraduate), they said.
The CBI found that Ashutosh Kumar knew that the facility was being used to provide question papers to NEET aspirants, officials said.
About Manish Kumar, they said that he allegedly struck deals with candidates who were willing to pay money to receive the question papers in advance.
He then took these candidates to the hostel where they were given the question papers and answer keys, the officials said, adding that the aspirants stayed in the hostel and prepared for the exam which was held on May 5. .
The federal investigation agency continued its action in Gujarat too, where three aspirants, who had allegedly paid an accused to help them clear the medical entrance examination, recorded their statements.
The CBI has approached a special court in Godhra seeking remand of five accused who were arrested by the Gujarat police in connection with the paper leak case.
The matter is likely to be heard at a hearing on Friday, officials said.
The Gujarat Police arrested five people, including the principal and a teacher of a school in Godhra, in connection with the paper leak case.
According to an FIR registered on May 8 by the Godhra police, the fraud was discovered after the Panchmahal district collector received a tip-off that some people were involved in exam-related malpractices.
Since the notice was received in advance, the authorities prevented malpractices at the center (Jay Jalaram School in Godhra) and the exam was conducted smoothly, the FIR stated.
Besides recording the statements of the three NEET-UG candidates on Thursday, CBI officials also questioned their parents and Dixit Patel, the owner of the Jay Jalaram school, an official said.
The school run by Patel was one of the centers for the NEET-UG exam on May 5.
The CBI teams visited Patel's two schools - Jay Jalaram International School on Sevaliya-Balasinor highway in Kheda district and Jay Jalaram School at Godhra in Panchmahal district.
The school's physics teacher Jay Jalaram, Tushar Bhatt, principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based educational consultant Parsuram Roy, his assistant Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra were arrested by the police.
The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET-UG paper leak case, which included its own FIR on a reference from the Union Education Ministry and five of the states where it took over the investigation. The investigation agency has taken up one case in Bihar and Gujarat and three cases in Rajasthan.
NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. This year's exam was held on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, 14 of them abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test.
The CBI's first FIR was registered on Sunday, a day after the ministry announced that it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam to the central agency.
The demand for a CBI probe was raised by a section of protesting students.
The two arrested accused, Manish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar, allegedly provided safe accommodation to the medical entrance exam aspirants before the exam and provided them with leaked question papers and answer keys, they said.
Both were produced before a special court in Patna which sent them to judicial custody, officials said, adding that the CBI will now seek remand of the duo for interrogation.
Ashutosh Kumar had allegedly rented 'Learn Boys Hostel and Play School' in Patna, from where the Economic Crimes Unit of the Bihar Police had recovered half-burnt question papers of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Undergraduate), they said.
The CBI found that Ashutosh Kumar knew that the facility was being used to provide question papers to NEET aspirants, officials said.
About Manish Kumar, they said that he allegedly struck deals with candidates who were willing to pay money to receive the question papers in advance.
He then took these candidates to the hostel where they were given the question papers and answer keys, the officials said, adding that the aspirants stayed in the hostel and prepared for the exam which was held on May 5. .
The federal investigation agency continued its action in Gujarat too, where three aspirants, who had allegedly paid an accused to help them clear the medical entrance examination, recorded their statements.
The CBI has approached a special court in Godhra seeking remand of five accused who were arrested by the Gujarat police in connection with the paper leak case.
The matter is likely to be heard at a hearing on Friday, officials said.
The Gujarat Police arrested five people, including the principal and a teacher of a school in Godhra, in connection with the paper leak case.
According to an FIR registered on May 8 by the Godhra police, the fraud was discovered after the Panchmahal district collector received a tip-off that some people were involved in exam-related malpractices.
Since the notice was received in advance, the authorities prevented malpractices at the center (Jay Jalaram School in Godhra) and the exam was conducted smoothly, the FIR stated.
Besides recording the statements of the three NEET-UG candidates on Thursday, CBI officials also questioned their parents and Dixit Patel, the owner of the Jay Jalaram school, an official said.
The school run by Patel was one of the centers for the NEET-UG exam on May 5.
The CBI teams visited Patel's two schools - Jay Jalaram International School on Sevaliya-Balasinor highway in Kheda district and Jay Jalaram School at Godhra in Panchmahal district.
The school's physics teacher Jay Jalaram, Tushar Bhatt, principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based educational consultant Parsuram Roy, his assistant Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra were arrested by the police.
The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET-UG paper leak case, which included its own FIR on a reference from the Union Education Ministry and five of the states where it took over the investigation. The investigation agency has taken up one case in Bihar and Gujarat and three cases in Rajasthan.
NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. This year's exam was held on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, 14 of them abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test.
The CBI's first FIR was registered on Sunday, a day after the ministry announced that it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam to the central agency.
The demand for a CBI probe was raised by a section of protesting students.
