Congress workers take part in a protest over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 results, in Patna.
Credit: PTI Photo
56 year old Sikander P Yadavendu is a key accused in the paper leak case of the NEET-UG exam and was arrested on May 5. The Indian Express reports that he is the son of a farmer and used to be a small time contractor until 2012.
He hails from an agricultural family in Samastipur, a small city in Bihar.
Yadavendu moved to Ranchi in the 1980s after class 10 and studied there till class 12, earning a diploma in engineering and worked as a contractor for 15 years.
In 2012, he landed a job as a junior engineer with the water resources department. A few years later in 2016, Yadavendu was named in an LED scam when he held additional charge of Rohtas Municipal Council. The alleged Rs 2.92 crore scam involved buying LEDs at inflated rates to be installed in Dalmianagar. He was arrested but released on bail later.
The report cited above further says that in 2021, he used his connections to secure a transfer to the urban development and housing department, with a posting in the Danapur Municipal Council.
The BJP government in the state has alleged that Yadavendu was closely associated with Pritam Kumar, the personal assistant of former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police is investigating Kumar for the same.
Tejashwi Yadav has however, refuted those claims and accused BJP of politicising the matter.
Four NEET aspirants were also arrested from a govt bungalow near Patna airport on May 5. They were caught after Yadavendu told their whereabouts to the police. It is alleged that Pritam called a staff member a day earlier and booked the room for Yadavendu.
Anurag Yadav, one of the accused is the nephew of Yadavendu.
Due to the paper leak and other discrepancies coming to the forefront, many student organisations and youth wings of political parties are staging protests across the country.
Some students are even raising the demand for a retest option for all students and say that they have lost faith in the National Testing Agency (NTA).