After the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for PG admissions was postponed for the fourth time on June 22, the question now is whether the NEET-UG examination will get cancelled following revelations of organised gangs being involved in a suspected paper leak. The Bihar government's Economic Offences Unit (EOU), in a report to the Union government, found “clear suggestion of a paper leak”. The report was submitted to the government on Saturday, June 22.
According to Indian Express, the EOU's investigation began after the arrest of 13 individuals, including four examinees, shortly after the exam on May 5. The probe, led by Additional Director General of Police NH Khan, pointed to the involvement of an inter-state gang and Bihar’s infamous 'solver gang'. The Union had sought the report from the EOU, who had been given charge of the probe by the Bihar government on May 11.
The six-page EOU report detailed evidence, including the seizure of burnt remains of the question paper, confessions from the accused, and the questioning of additional examinees, all indicating a leak. Four arrested examinees had allegedly memorised answers from the leaked paper and scored 581, 483, 300, and 185 marks out of 720.
The report also suggests the involvement of an inter-state gang with ties to Jharkhand, collaborating with Bihar’s solver gang. The EOU recently detained four individuals from Jharkhand and arrested Sanjeev Mukhiya of Nalanda, the alleged mastermind of the solver gang. Sanjeev’s network purportedly obtained the question paper from Jharkhand, solved it with expert help, and then passed it on to Nitish Kumar of Patna and Amit Anand of Khagaria. Danapur Municipal Council junior engineer Sikander P Yadavendu was identified as a key facilitator.
On the night before the exam, Patna police received a tip-off from a Jharkhand police official about a possible leak. Despite immediate action, the suspects were not immediately located. The next day, Patna police made arrests and seized burnt question paper fragments, leading to further arrests and confessional statements implicating the accused.
The EOU’s findings, including the burnt question paper and post-dated cheques, supported the leak theory. The accused, Nitish Kumar, admitted to demanding Rs 30-32 lakh per student, with Yadavendu allegedly asking for Rs 40 lakh per aspirant. Nine additional examinees received show cause notices from the EOU on suspicion of benefiting from the leak, with two appearing before the unit so far.