As per a PTI report, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team from Delhi reached the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) office of the Bihar Police in Patna this morning, June 24, to investigate allegations of irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET UG 2024, officials said.
The EOU, which had been handling the case until the Centre ordered a CBI probe, has arrested 18 individuals connected to the case, officials confirmed. "The CBI officers are collecting evidence related to the case from the EOU," an official said.
On May 23, the CBI filed an FIR regarding the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 exam, held on May 5, following a reference from the Education Ministry amid widespread protests and litigations by students.
"The evidence collected by the EOU during the course of investigation include pieces of the burnt question paper recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, SIM cards, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference questions papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA)," an EOU officer said.
"All those arrested are in judicial custody in Patna, and the CBI team may take them to Delhi for detailed interrogation by obtaining transit remand from a court here," he added.
The CBI is expected to file multiple FIRs to investigate the destruction of evidence and may also register disproportionate assets (DA) cases against some of the accused who are public servants, as reported by the PTI.
"A DA case may be registered against arrested accused Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, a junior engineer in Danapur Town Council, as he reportedly acquired huge assets that are disproportionate to his known source of income," the officer said.
Yadvendu, originally from Samastipur, has been identified as the prime suspect in the case. "He has a history of involvement in criminal activities. Before becoming a junior engineer in 2012, he worked as a contractor in Ranchi. He was previously implicated in an LED scam worth Rs 3 crore. He has served a jail sentence for his role in that case," the officer said.
