NEET-UG Paper Leak Case: Accused Cites ‘Mistaken Identity’, Gets Bail

The accused's lawyer claimed that Gunde was wrongly arrested due to a mistaken identity as he's not the actual man for whom CBI was looking for.

A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to one Gangadhar Gunde for being “wrongly” arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  in connection with the NEET paper leak case linked to Maharashtra’s Latur. Granting bail to Gunde, the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi said he was arrested in place of another man with the same name, who is accused of being in touch with persons allegedly involved in case. 

Gunde was arrested by CBI from Dehradun on June 26, and was in police custody till June 30, followed by 12-day judicial custody. A resident of Gurugram, he was intercepted while on his way to Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.

His advocate Kailash More claimed Gunde was wrongly arrested by the central probe agency due to a mistaken identity as he's not the actual man for whom CBI was looking for.

As per his lawyer, the only reason why Gangadhar Gunde was arrested because he had contacted Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav, another accused in the NEET paper leak case. Jadhav and Gangadhar Gunde had met last October to settle a matrimonial dispute involving the latter’s daughter, More said.

An FIR was lodged by the CBI about the NEET UG exam 2024 against a person whose name is also Gangadhar but the full name was not revealed, the court learned. N Gangadhar Appa Nanjuthappa was arrested by the CBI later on.

The counsel for the CBI, however, disputed the submissions of the defense counsel and argued that it had two Gangadhars in custody and that only Iranna Kongulwar, an accused who is on the run at present, could identify the Gangadhar involved in the paper leak case. “There is no such case of mistaken identity…the accused is misleading the Court,” the CBI stated. 

After listening to arguments from both sides, special CBI judge Ankit Singla granted bail to Gangadhar Gunde on furnishing of a bail bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety bond of the same amount. A detailed order by the court in this matter is awaited.

Meanwhile, the Patna High Court on Friday granted the CBI the custody of 13 people arrested by the Bihar police in connection with NEET-UG paper leak case. The central probe agency will now be able to question these accused in custody and also confront them with kingpin Rockey alias Rakesh Ranjan who was arrested on Thursday.