The arrested accused said that the question papers were provided a day before the May 5 exam (File)
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024 paper leak fiasco saw a fresh twist today with the accused admitting to the police that question papers were arranged for certain candidates a day before the exam for nearly Rs 32 lakh.
The shocking confession came from four persons arrested by the Bihar Police, including a NEET aspirant named Anurag Yadav whose uncle is a junior engineer in the Danapur Municipal Council, and two others - Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand - the purported masterminds behind the paper leak.
They confessed that the question papers were provided a day before the May 5 exam.
Anurag Yadav told the police that his uncle Sikander Yadavendu arranged the NEET papers for him in advance.
“I was preparing for NEET at the Allen Institute in Kota (Rajasthan). My uncle Sikander Yadavendu called me to Patna and took me to Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar, where I was given some questions and the answer keys for the exam. I was told to memorise the answers. When I sat for the test the next day, I saw the questions were the same as those given to me on May 4. However, after the test, the police arrested me,” he said.
Sikander Yadavendu claimed that he was told by Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar about the paper leak before the test.
“Amit and Nitish told me that the NEET question papers would be leaked and would cost about Rs 30-32 lakh. I agreed and told them about four students - Ayush Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Shivanand Kumar, and Abhishek Kumar. On May 4, I took the four to a place where aspirants were already cramming up answers to the questions.
"Out of greed, I asked for Rs 40 lakh from each student instead of the original amount. However, I was later caught by the police,” he said, revealing the chain of events leading to the paper leak.
Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, in their statements to the police, admitted their role in the leak and revealed how their collusion with Mr Yadavendu led to their arrest.
“After Sikander Yadavendu was arrested, he directed the police towards us. The police also raided the place where the students were given the leaked papers. They also found the remaining pieces of the burnt question papers,” the two said in their statement to the police.
About 24 lakh aspirants appeared for NEET 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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)