NEET-UG: After civil engineer, CBI now arrests 4 AIIMS MBBS students
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested four MBBS students of AIIMS Patna in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.
Three of the four men have been identified as third-year MBBS students – Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu. Karan Jain, the fourth accused, is a first-year student at the premier institute.
The group was detained from their hostel on Wednesday and their rooms were sealed.
AIIMS Patna director GK Pal confirmed the development.
“The CBI has taken away four students. Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu are third-year students and Karan Jain is a second-year student,” AIIMS Patna Director G K Paul said.
He said a senior officer had sent them photographs and mobile numbers of students who were required in the probe.
The students were apprehended in the presence of senior management of AIIMS Patna.
Dr Pal said that no doctor had been arrested.
“No doctor has been arrested, but as per the information available, the CBI team has taken away four students. One of these students was not at the hostel. He reported to them later. So, going by the information we have received, a total of four students are with the CBI. One of their senior officers had earlier shared the names of all students involved in the NEET scam, along with their photos and mobile numbers,” he said.
Dr Pal emphasised that help and cooperation have been provided regarding the investigation underway.
“We have cooperated regarding all the help they needed. We will continue to cooperate. The students haven’t returned yet. We don’t know about the involvement of students, how they got involved, or whether they are guilty. The students are Chandan Singh, Rahul Anand, Karan Jain, and Kumar Sanu. Chandan Singh is a resident of Siwan (Bihar), Kumar Sanu is a resident of Patna (Bihar), Rahul Anand is actually from Dhanbad (Jharkhand) but now lives in Patna, and Karaa Jain is from Araria (Bihar). Yesterday, CBI told us to seal their rooms. CBI has sealed three rooms, and we sealed one room,” the AIIMS Patna Executive Director and CEO added.
The move came two days after CBI arrested Pankaj Kumar, a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.
The CBI is probing the NEET paper leak in Bihar. They have arrested dozens of people, including aspirants, over alleged malpractices in the conduct of the exam.
The Supreme Court, hearing a clutch of petitions over the NEET row, asked the petitioners to prove that the paper leak in Bihar was systematic and the sanctity of the entire exam was compromised.
The Centre and the National Testing Agency have submitted before the court that re-examination will jeopardize the future of lakhs of hard-working students.