CBI Detains AIIMS Patna Doctors in NEET-UG 2024 Paper Leak Scandal

This development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing scheduled today (July 18) on a batch of petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 controversy.

In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained three doctors from AIIMS Patna in connection with the paper leak and irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 entrance examination.

The doctors, from the 2021 batch, have been taken into custody for questioning. The CBI has also sealed their rooms and seized their laptops and mobile phones.

This development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing scheduled today (July 18) on a batch of petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 controversy. The Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear more than 40 pleas related to NEET UG 2024.

These include those filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), seeking the transfer of cases pending against it in various high courts to the Supreme Court to avoid multiplicity of litigations.

CBI Arrest in NEET UG 2024

The doctors' detention follows the CBI's arrest of Pankaj Kumar, accused of stealing the NEET-UG paper from the NTA's trunk in Hazaribagh, Bihar, and his associate, Raju Singh. Kumar was arrested in Patna, while Singh was apprehended in Hazaribagh. A special court in Patna has sent Pankaj Kumar to 14-day CBI custody and Raju Singh to 10-day custody.

The CBI has now arrested nine people in connection with the NEET paper leak case and has custody of 13 other accused, including the alleged kingpin, Rocky alias Rakesh Ranjan, from Bihar. The investigation revealed that the paper was leaked by Oasis School in Hazaribagh, where staff failed to report the broken seals on two sets of papers.

In an affidavit filed last week, the Centre asserted the integrity of the NEET-UG 2024 exam process, highlighting findings from an IIT-Madras data analysis. The report indicated no signs of mass malpractice or localized candidate advantage. The NTA also submitted a separate affidavit, stating that the distribution of marks appeared normal, with no extraneous factors influencing it.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the petitions, the NEET-UG controversy remains under intense scrutiny, with potential implications for the examination's future and the candidates affected by the alleged malpractices.

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