The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed its first charge sheet in the NEET-UG examination paper leak case and named 13 persons as accused.
The agency says that the accused were allegedly involved in the question paper leak and other irregularities.
Those named in the charge sheet are: Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar-1, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar-2, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar and Ayush Raj.
The case was initially registered at Shastri Nagar Police Station in Patna on May 5 and later transferred to the CBI on June 23.
The CBI said it has utilised advanced forensic techniques, Artificial Intelligence technology, CCTV footage, tower location analysis etc. to gather evidence against the accused.
Also read
- NEET, like Sanskrit in 1920s, denies medical education to poor students: Udhayanidhi Stalin
- ‘NTA at heart of NEET scandal, youths' future reduced to revenue-raising exercise’ alleges Congress
- NEET-UG row: ‘SC verdict vindicates Centre’s stand, rejects propaganda’, says a relieved Dharmendra Pradhan
- Evaluate exam process, formulate SOP with rigorous mechanisms: SC directs expert committee in NEET verdict
“CBI is continuing further investigation against other accused/ suspects and on other aspects of the case,” it said.
The agency has so far arrested 40 accused in this case, including 15 arrested by Bihar Police, and conducted searches at 58 locations. It said supplementary charge sheets will be filed when the investigation against the other accused and suspects is complete.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union education ministry have been at the centre of a massive row after allegations of large-scale malpractices in the NEET-UG exam sparked off students protests across the country.