NEET-UG Paper Leak Case: CBI arrests two medical students, ‘all-rounder’ who aided kingpin

The CBI arrested two medical students and another individual on Saturday in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. The development came less than two days after the probe agency nabbed four AIIMS Patna MBBS students who had acted as ‘solvers’ for the main accused. The total number of people arrested by the agency in six related cases has now risen to 21.

Technical surveillance confirmed this week that second-year MBBS student Kumar Mangalam Bishnoi and first-year student Deepender Sharma were present in Hazaribagh during the NEET-UG examination on May 5. They reportedly acted as "solvers" for the paper stolen by Pankaj Kumar.

According to the police, the third accused — identified as Shashi Kumar Paswan — had provided all kinds of support to the kingpin. Reports indicate that he is a B.Tech (Electrical) graduate from the National Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur.

The NEET-UG exams held in early May has sparked widespread protests in recent weeks over alleged irregularities. The CBI has lodged six FIRs after taking over the case and arrested 21 people. The list includes at least seven students who had acted as ‘solvers’ as well as several ‘masterminds’.

Earlier this week the probe agency arrested two key individuals in connection with the paper leak case — civil engineer Pankaj Kumar and Raju Singh. The 2017 batch National Institute of Technology graduate had allegedly stolen the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh. Rakesh Ranjan (alias Rocky) — believed to be one of the key players in the NEET paper leak network — was also taken into custody recently following a planned operation.

According to officials, Paswan (arrested today) is believed to have been acting in tandem with Kumar and Rocky.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted by NTA, is the pathway for admissions into MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The exam was held across 4,750 centres on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates.

(With inputs from agencies)