ED searches 11 locations in connection to Bihar Constable Recruitment Scam, accused linked to NEET UG 2024 paper leak

The Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches in 11 locations across Patna, Nalanda, Ranchi, Lucknow, and Kolkata in connection to the Bihar Constable Recruitment Scam of 2023, involving the same individuals as the NEET UG Paper Leak Scam of 2024.

The case concerns the Bihar Constable Recruitment Examination, which was held by the Central Selection Board of Constables (CSBC) in October 2023. The exam was set for October 1, 7, and 15, and more than 1.8 million candidates were expected to compete for 21,391 positions. However, on the very first day, the exam questions were leaked, leading to an uproar that resulted in the cancellation of the exam and the postponement of subsequent tests.

Last year on June 29, Hindustan Times reported, citing a Bihar police’s Economic Offence Unit (EOU) officer who stated that one of the accused revealed that the paper leak was conducted carefully through an organised plan to obtain the sealed questions while they were being transported from the printing press. The questions were scanned using specialised equipment and later provided to their clients, complete with solved answers, in return for significant payments.

The EOU discovered that the CSBC had a contract with Kolkata-based Caltex Multivation Private Limited (CMPL) to print question papers and package and transport them to the treasury.

“The CMPL handed over its work to a Blessing Secured Press Private limited (BSPPL) for printing question papers and confidential documents in violation of the agreement and the work order. In the agreement, there was no provision of outsourcing/subletting work,” the report quoted the officer.

The agreement stated that the company would transport the questions from the printing press directly to the treasury. However, the confidential papers were transported in an open vehicle, with no seal, lock, or security guard, to a warehouse of DP World Express Logistics Pvt Ltd (DPWELPL) in Kolkata.

Following this, the papers were offloaded at the Patna warehouse and then sent to the district treasury by Zenith Logistic and Express Pvt. Limited (ZLEPL). These question papers were subsequently leaked four days prior to the exam, where the answer key were provided to students for a hefty sum of money.