On Thursday, July 11th, 2024, the NEET-UG paper leak case had a breakthrough as the tenth arrest so far was made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of Rakesh Ranjan from Patna who has been identified as the main accused in the case.

Four locations in Patna and Kolkata were scouted by the probe agency to get this arrest, and CBI also recovered documents and other electronic gadgets for Ranjan's custody. Ranjan was sent to 10-day CBI custody. The Bihar FIR is in relation to question paper leakage, while the other three from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are related to test cheating and candidate impersonation.

NEET-UG Paper leak case
Image Source: ASMA

Concerning the leak case, the CBI has so far detained eight people in Bihar, one person in connection with suspected manipulation in Godhra and Latur, Gujarat, and one person from Dehradun in connection with a wider plot. Six FIRs have been filed by the CBI, which is looking into the alleged anomalies in the medical entrance test. Previous arrests include those of Ashutosh Kumar, accused of giving his premises for distribution of NEET papers, Manish Kumar who gave leaked question papers to students whose parents paid lakhs and the district coordinator of the NEET exam in Hazaribag, Principal of Oasis School Dr. Ehsanul Haque Principal.

NEET-UG 2024 Examination Integrity Concerns

Of the same school, the center superintendent and NTA's observer, Imtiaz Ali, Jamaluddin, accused of colluding with the principal and vice principal, and another key accused Aman Singh from Bihar were also arrested. Sources suggest the Bihar case of the paper leak was at an 'organized' level.

Cases registered in other states include the suspected role of proxy candidates and invigilators, instead of paper leaks. The results of NEET-UG 2024 taken by approximately 24 lakh candidates on May 5th, 2024, were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) amidst criticism and concern over the integrity of the process.

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