NEET Paper Leak Case: CBI Arrests RIMS MBBS Student For 'Solving' Exam Papers

NEET UG Row: CBI has arrested Surabhi Kumari, a first-year MBBS student at RIMS, for allegedly solving the exam paper.

CBI arrests RIMS MBBS student who 'solved' NEET papers. (Representative Image)

Source : Pexels

New Delhi: The CBI on Friday arrested Surabhi Kumari, a first-year MBBS student at Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), for allegedly being part of a 'solver module' linked to the NEET-UG paper leak, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.

Kumari was detained after two days of intensive questioning by the CBI, according to the officials. She is suspected to be the fifth member of the 'solver module' present in Hazaribagh on the morning of May 5, the day of the NEET-UG examination, to solve the stolen paper, allegedly taken by Pankaj Kumar.

Pankaj Kumar, also known as Aditya, is a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.

So far, the CBI has arrested 16 individuals in connection with the NEET-UG cases it has taken over. The RIMS, an autonomous institute under the Jharkhand government, was approached by the CBI earlier this week for questioning Kumari.

"The CBI team contacted the hospital management on Wednesday, requesting to question her in connection with the NEET paper leak. The management fully cooperated with the team. On Thursday, they continued to interrogate her and indicated further questioning," RIMS PRO Rajiv Ranjan told PTI earlier in the day.

The student's parents were informed about the situation by the management.

On Thursday, the CBI also arrested four MBBS students from AIIMS Patna, all part of the solver module, in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak. They have been placed in CBI custody for four days.

Sources indicated that these five individuals were tasked with solving the paper to provide answer keys to NEET aspirants who had engaged the gang's services.

The CBI had already arrested Pankaj Kumar, who stole the paper, and Raju Singh, who assisted him. On Thursday, the agency also arrested Surender Sharma, who helped Kumar in Hazaribagh.

Sharma was presented before a special court along with the four AIIMS students of the solver module.

The central probe agency, investigating alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has lodged six FIRs. The Bihar FIR pertains to the paper leak, while the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra concern impersonation of candidates and cheating.

The agency's own FIR, based on a reference from the Union education ministry, pertains to a comprehensive investigation into the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.