In a significant development related to alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made a crucial arrest. Aman Singh, who was arrested from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, is purportedly a central figure in the case, according to CBI sources, reported news agency PTI.
The CBI has developed intelligence about the Jharkhand-based module allegedly involved in the paper leak of NEET-UG 2024 that resulted in the arrest of Singh, officials said.
This is the sixth arrest by the central agency in connection with the case, the officials added.
CBI on Sunday arrested the owner of a private school in Gujarat's Godhra in connection with alleged malpractices in the NEET-UG exam.
Dixit Patel, owner of Jay Jalaram School situated near Godhra in Panchmahal district where the exam was conducted, was arrested in the from his residence, he was arrested for allegedly soliciting bribes ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh from candidates, promising to enhance their examination scores.
On Saturday the agency arrested a journalist from Jharkhand in relation with the case, the arrested man named as Jamaluddin Ansari, works with a Hindi newspaper in the state, the officials said he was arrested on Friday for allegedly trying to help Principal Ehsanul Haque and Vice-Principal Imtiaz Alam of Oasis School in Hazaribagh. Both of them are accused in the paper leak case and were taken into custody earlier.
NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions, the NTA is facing criticism over alleged irregularities. This prompted a series of protests across the country, with demonstrators and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.
This year's exam was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad.
More than 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the test.
The first CBI FIR was registered on June 23, a day after the ministry announced it would hand over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam to the central agency.