NEET question paper leak: Gangs were involved, says Centre

NEW DELHI: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta openly admitted to the Supreme Court that several gangs were involved in the NEET question paper leak. The question paper was first leaked in a school in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. From there, the question paper reached a gang in Patna. The question paper leak in Godhra in Gujarat was also discussed in the court. Meanwhile, the CBI submitted a second status report on the progress of the investigation in the case.

The counsel for the petitioners pointed out that in Hazaribagh, where the question paper was leaked, the papers were taken to the examination centre in an e-rickshaw. The papers, that were supposed to be kept in the bank locker, were taken to the school. There was no security escort. However, the Solicitor General replied that only OMR sheets were taken to the examination centre in the e-rickshaw.

The Solicitor General said that the question paper was leaked between 8.02 am and 9.23 am on May 5, the day of the exam. The culprits leaked the question paper by taking its photos. The Chief Justice asked in return whether the examination did not start at 10.15 am. There were 180 questions. The Chief Justice asked whether it was possible to find answers to so many questions and hand them over to the students in just 45 minutes from 9.30 to 10.15. Although the Solicitor General responded that seven persons handed over the question papers and answers to 25 students each, the court was not convinced by this finding.

Four students arrested
The CBI on Thursday four MBBS students of the Patna AIIMS in connection with the NEET question paper leak. The arrested students have been identified as Karan Jain, Kumar Sanu, Rahul Anand and Chandan Singh. The CBI arrested the four after finding that they were the ones who prepared the answers and provided them to Pankaj Singh, the main accused in the leak case. It is indicated that the CBI officials found crucial evidence when they raided the rooms of the accused.