NEET-UG Paper Leak: CBI Arrests 4 MBBS Students Of AIIMS Patna

The Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested four AIIMS Patna MBBS students linked to the NEET-UG paper leak case, according to officials. Three third-year MBBS students—Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu—and one second-year student, Karan Jain, were detained following extensive interrogation by a CBI team. Officials reported that the students were removed from their hostel rooms on Wednesday, with senior AIIMS faculty members previously notified about the need for their involvement in the investigation.

The agency has since sealed their hostel rooms. "Four students have been taken by the CBI. Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu are in their third year, while Karan Jain is a second-year student," stated G K Paul, the Director of AIIMS Patna.

He mentioned that a senior officer had provided the photographs and mobile numbers of the students needed for the investigation. The CBI team apprehended the students in the presence of the dean, hostel warden, and the Officer on Special Duty to the Director, Paul elaborated.

This action follows the arrest of Pankaj Kumar, also known as Aditya, a civil engineer from the 2017 batch at the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, accused of stealing the NEET-UG paper from an NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.

Kumar, hailing from Bokaro, was taken into custody in Patna, said officials. Additionally, the CBI arrested Raju Singh, alleged to have assisted Kumar in the theft of the paper, in Hazaribagh.

The CBI is investigating suspected malpractices in the medical entrance exam and has filed six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar concerns the paper leak, while the others from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra involve candidate impersonation and cheating.

An FIR by the agency, based on a directive from the Union Education Ministry, calls for a "comprehensive investigation" into the purported discrepancies in NEET-UG 2024. The NEET-UG, overseen by the NTA, facilitates admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions.