NEW DELHI: Amid allegations of NEET-UG question paper leak, four candidates arrested by the Economic Offences Unit of the Bihar Police confessed to having gathered at Ramakrishna Nagar in Patna on the eve of the exam and getting access to the question paper.
In their confessional statements, which were shared by the police, it was revealed that each of the four students was charged nearly Rs 32 lakh. The police have arrested two key accused Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand who have also confessed to the crime.
Nitish told the police that he along with Amit met his friend Sikandar P Yadavendu at Danapur Municipal Council office where the latter worked as a junior engineer, and told him that they could leak the question paper of any competitive exam. “Yadavendu then asked us if we could help 4-5 boys who are preparing for NEET-UG. We told him that it would cost Rs 30-32 lakh. Yadavendu agreed and said he would introduce us to the students,” Nitish said in his confessional statement.
Nitish, who is also facing charges for allegedly leaking the question paper of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam, also revealed that on the night of May 4, the candidates were made to memorise the questions along with answers. Amit, who also confessed to the crime, said after Yadavendu’s arrest, he burnt the question papers. “After Yadavendu was arrested, he directed the police towards us. The police also raided the spot where the students were given the leaked papers. They also found the remaining pieces of the burnt question papers,” the duo told police.
In his confession letter to the Shastri Nagar police station in Patna, Anurag Yadav (22), a candidate who took the NEET-UG, said he got a call from his uncle Yadavendu, telling him to return from Kota as “setting for the exam has been done”. “I then met Amit and Nitish on the night of May 4. I was given a question paper along with answers and was made to memorise it that night. I appeared for the exam at DY Patil School and found the same questions in the paper that I had memorised. After the exam, the police arrested me,” he said in his confessional statement. A similar confession was made by another student, identified as Shivnandan Kumar.
The Union Education Ministry, meanwhile, on Wednesday sought a report from the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit regarding the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG in Patna. About 24 lakh aspirants appeared for the NEET-UG on May 5 for admission to medical colleges. The results were announced before time on June 5, but were marred by allegations of paper leak and awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 candidates.