NEET Row: CBI Arrests Manish Prakash And Ashutosh From Patna In Paper Leak Case

NEET Paper Leak Case: The central agency had taken over the case from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar police on June 24.

CBI makes first arrest in NEET-UG paper leak case from Patna. ( Image Source :Geety )

NEET Paper Leak Case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made its first arrests in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak case. Two suspects, Manish Prakash and Ashutosh, were arrested from Patna, as reported by ANI. The CBI, which recently took over the investigation, visited the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police on Monday to begin probing the alleged irregularities in the exam.

According to officials, they allegedly provided safe premises to the aspirants before the examination, where the students were given leaked papers and answer keys. Manish Prakash was responsible for transporting candidates to Learn Play School in his car, while Ashutosh arranged accommodation for the students at Safe House, which was located in his home.

Manish was arrested during interrogation in Patna. The CBI informed Manish's wife of his arrest via a phone call. Notably, these are the first arrests made independently by the CBI, as previously, the agency had only taken custody of individuals arrested by local police. Both Manish Prakash and Ashutosh have been presented in court.

The Bihar government handed over the investigation of alleged irregularities in the 2024 NEET-UG exam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a thorough probe. The Economic Offences Unit transferred all the updated case records to the central agency. The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET paper leak case.

Notably, NEET-UG, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), is for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The examination took place on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the test. After the declaration of results on June 4, students and parents raised concerns over irregularities and paper leak in the medical entrance test.