Baldev Kumar alias Sindhu was among the five arrested by the Economic Offenses Police from Jharkhand’s Deohar district on Sunday. The Economic Offenses Wing police produced them in a Patna court and sent them to judicial custody.
The Economic Offenses Wing of the Bihar Police has handed over the investigation into the NEET-UG examination irregularities to the CBI. The CBI on Sunday said it has arrested an answer gang member who received the PDF of the May 4 answered question paper on his phone, a day before the NEET exam.
Baldev Kumar alias Sindhu was among the five arrested by the Economic Offenses Police from Jharkhand’s Deohar district on Sunday. The Economic Offenses Wing police produced them in a Patna court and sent them to judicial custody.
The Bihar Police Agency said in a statement that Baldev Kumar is related to the kingpin of the gang, Sanjeev Kumar, who answers the question paper in hiding.
“Based on the available evidence, the answer papers of the NEET UG-2024 examination held on 05.05.2024 have been obtained by this gang on mobiles,” Bihar Police Agency said.
Baldev Kumar, a resident of Bihar Sharif in Nalanda district, lived in a rented house in Patna. Other arrested members answering the leaked question paper” Mukesh Kumar; resident of Agamkuan, Patna; Panku Kumar, resident of Sabilapur, Nalanda; Rajeev Kumar alias Karu, resident of Ekangarsarai, Nalanda; and Paramjit Singh alias Bittu, resident of Sabilalpur, Nalanda.
Before their arrest, Mukesh Kumar, Rajeev Kumar and Paramjeet Singh were named as accused persons in the Economic Offenses Wing case.
The Economic Offenses Wing said in a statement that it has framed all five accused based on intelligence inputs and technical investigation. “Partly burnt papers were found at Learn Boys Hostel and Play School located at Nandlal Chapra in Ramakrishna Nagar police station area, Patna. The samples were sent for Forensic Science Testing (FSL),” it said.
The report mapped the trail of the leaked question paper. “Baldev Kumar received the PDF file of the answered question paper on his mobile on the morning of May 5. Copies were taken from the Wi-Fi printer kept in the school. Teams of examinees were formed to memorize them,” said the Economic Offenses Wing.
Arrangements have also been made for efficient transportation of candidates. “A drop-off point around 2 km from this school was fixed by the gang to take candidates to Learn Boys Hostel and Play School. Gang members were present at this abandoned location. As revealed during the investigation, the gang members used a taxi to take the candidates from this drop-off point to Learn Boys Hostel and Play School and back. Among the 5 arrested were taxi driver and owner Mukesh Kumar, the vehicle used to transport the candidates was also seized.
“During the investigation into this malpractice, the examination number details of 15 suspected candidates have been obtained from the National Examinations Agency. Out of which 4 candidates have been investigated. The rest of the candidates are yet to appear for the hearing. A copy of the reference question paper related to the half-burnt question paper seized from Learn Boys Hostel and Play School has been received by the National Examinations Agency,” the Economic Offenses Wing police report said.
The Economic Offenses Wing police added: “After receiving the desired report regarding the serial code of the half-burnt question paper seized from the National Examination Agency on the evening of June 20, 2024, it came to light that the half-burnt question paper was recovered from the Learn Boys Hostel.
Candidates’ Serial Code is Verified Examination Center of Oasis School Kallu Chowk, Mandai Road, Hazaribag District, Jharkhand. During preliminary verification, the polybag suspected of packing the question paper from the concerned examination center of Hazaribagh, the original question paper packing recovered from the concerned candidate and the relevant packing trunk were found to be tampered with during preliminary investigation and all these suspicious exhibits have been duly seized.
The Economic Offenses Wing police said duplicate SIMs were issued to Baldev and others and accommodation arrangements were made. A suspicious envelope was also seized in Jharkhand, and the case is said to have links to an inter-state gang.
The Economic Offenses Wing, which took over the investigation from the Patna police on May 17, said it would transfer the case to the CBI. Patna police arrested 13 people for leaking the question paper on May 5.
