NEET-UG paper leak case: CBI arrests RIMS MBBS student who 'solved' papers

The student, who stays at the girls’ hostel of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), formerly known as Rajendra Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), an autonomous institute under the Jharkhand government, was approached by the CBI earlier this week for questioning.

New Delhi: The CBI Friday arrested a first-year MBBS student of Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for allegedly being part of a 'solver module' working with an engineer who had stolen the NEET-UG question papers, officials said.

It is alleged that Kumari was the fifth member of the 'solver module' which was present in Hazaribagh in the morning of May 5, the NEET-UG examination day, to solve the paper stolen by Pankaj Kumar, they said.

Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.

The CBI has so far arrested 16 persons in connection with the NEET-UG cases taken over by it.

The RIMS, an autonomous institute under the Jharkhand government, was approached by the CBI earlier this week for questioning.

"The CBI team contacted the hospital management on Wednesday saying they wanted to question her in connection with the NEET paper leak. The management extended full cooperation to the team. On Thursday too, they grilled her and said she will be questioned further," RIMS PRO Rajiv Ranjan told PTI earlier in the day.

The official said the parents of the student had contacted the management and were briefed about the situation.

On Thursday, the CBI had arrested four MBBS students of AIIMS Patna, all members of the solver module, in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, they said. They have been sent to CBI custody for four days.

According to sources, these five members were tasked to solve the paper so that answer key could be provided to NEET aspirants who had taken services of the gang, they said.

The CBI had already arrested Kumar, who stole the paper, and Raju Singh who had helped him in the process. The agency on Thursday also arrested one Surender Sharma, who also helped Kumar in Hazaribagh.

Sharma was presented before a special court along with four AIIMS students of the 'solver module', they said.

The central probe agency, which is investigating the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has lodged six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leak while the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are regarding impersonation of candidates and cheating.

The agency's own FIR on a reference from the Union education ministry pertains to a "comprehensive investigation" into the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024.

The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. This year, the 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.