The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police has uncovered significant lapses in its investigation into the alleged NEET-UG 2024 question paper leak. During a raid at a play school in Patna, the EOU recovered a burnt booklet that matched entirely with the original NEET booklet, according to details provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The investigation also revealed that the BlueDart courier responsible for transporting the question papers did not deliver them directly to the State Bank of India branch in Hazaribagh, indicating potential tampering.
An official from the Bihar Police noted that the courier company’s failure to deliver the question papers directly to the designated branch suggests possible collusion between the courier staff and the gang involved in the leak. Instead, the papers were delivered to a local office, raising suspicions of intentional diversion.
The investigation gained momentum after the NTA shared detailed information about the booklet and the chain of command last Friday. This update followed a briefing to the Ministry of Education on the probe’s status. Subsequently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been authorized to take over the case files from the Bihar Police EOU, following a notification of consent from the Bihar government on Sunday.
On Friday, the Bihar EOU arrested five individuals implicated in the case, including Baldev Kumar alias Chintu, a close associate of the alleged kingpin, Sanjeev Mukhiya, from Jharkhand’s Deoghar. Chintu reportedly received a PDF of the solved question paper via WhatsApp and facilitated NEET aspirants in memorizing the answers at the play school in Patna.
This incident is not isolated, as Hazaribagh has previously been linked to paper leak probes. Earlier this year, the Bihar EOU arrested over 200 individuals from the district in connection with the Bihar Public Service Commission’s Teacher Recruitment Exam paper leak.
These developments highlight serious breaches in the examination process, prompting a broader investigation to ensure the integrity of competitive exams in India.
