NEET-UG paper leak case: CBI takes RIMS Ranchi student into custody

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], July 19 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken into custody a first-year MBBS student of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.

The student was interrogated on Wednesday, following which she was taken into custody on Thursday.

“The student belonged to the 2023 batch which is a first-year student and she is now under the custody of CBI. They initially approached the administration for some initial information from the student and yesterday they again approached for further investigation in the same and then they proceeded with the custody of the student,” Rajiv Ranjan, the RIMS Public Relations Official said.

Ranjan said that the CBI had earlier approached the medical institution for more information and the administration is ready to offer its support for the investigation.

“The CBI had approached us for further information in this case. The administration will give full support and whatever information is needed will be given to them whenever they approach but till now after the custody, there is no such thing…,” he said.

On Thursday, the CBI arrested four medical students from AIIMS Patna in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.

As per the CBI sources, the four accused were identified as Karan Jain, Kumar Sanu, Rahul Anand and Chandan Singh used to solve papers for the main accused, Pankaj Singh.

All the accused in the case have been sent to four days of CBI custody.

The CBI arrested two more people in connection with the case on July 16. The arrested persons were identified as Pankaj Kumar Singh and Raju Singh. They were arrested in Patna and Hazaribagh, respectively.

The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5, 2024, has been mired in controversy, with allegations of cheating and impersonation.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the exam, has faced severe criticism, leading to protests and legal actions. The Union Health Ministry has postponed the NEET-PG 2024 examination, with new dates to be announced soon.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted by NTA, is the pathway for admissions into MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

The NEET-UG 2024 was held across 4,750 centres on May 5 and around 24 lakh candidates appeared in it.