CBI files third chargesheet in neet paper theft case in Patna; 21 named as accused

PATNA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed the third chargesheet in the ongoing probe into the theft of the NEET UG 2024 paper case, where it has named 21 people. The case has been in the limelight for quite some time, as one side of the conspiracy is accused of stealing the paper from OASIS School in Hazaribagh to distribute it.

The chargesheet runs into over 5,500 pages. Raj Kumar Singh alias Raju Singh, Surendra Kumar Sharma alias Mol, Rakesh Ranjan alias Rocky, and 18 other accused have been charged with several sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.

It turned out that it was the NEET question paper that had disappeared, after which the police investigation revealed that the papers had been taken away by trespassers who had entered the school’s control room on May 5, 2024, where the trunks containing the papers had reached from the bank vault. One of the accused persons, Pankaj Kumar, claimed that he had accessed the room on an entry pass issued by the principal, Ahsanul Haque, and vice-principal, Imtiyaz Alam. Kumar used specialised tools to insert his camera, with which he clicked the photos of the papers and then sealed the container again.

It was taken to the Raj Guest House at Hazaribagh, where it was distributed to a group of solvers, mostly MBBS students, who solved the paper and further forwarded it to advance-paying aspirants. It was well pulled off since all the copies of the solved papers were disposed of properly so that no trace of evidence could be followed. The investigators of the CBI followed this case to the Oasis School after getting pieces of half-burnt question papers in Patna. The investigators identified as many as 144 students who received benefits through the leakage.