NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday provided a detailed information of how the NEET UG paper leak scam unfolded. It said that nearly 144 candidates had paid “huge amounts” to get access to the leaked question papers which were unlocked using “sophisticated tool kit.”
“The CBI has also identified 144 candidates present in these locations who were beneficiaries of this paper leak and necessary legal action is being initiated against them; 21 mobile phones used by the main accused in this case have also been recovered from various water bodies with the help of the divers by the CBI,” the agency said.
In its third chargesheet filed on Monday, the CBI had named Pankaj Kumar as another accused who allegedly stole the question papers from Hazaribagh school in collusion with its principal Ahsanul Haque and vice-principal Md Imtiyaz Alam.
“Pankaj used a sophisticated tool kit to open and seal the trunk. This tool kit was seized by CBI from the residence of Pankaj Kumar,” a CBI spokesperson said.
“Only those candidates who paid money in advance were allowed to enter these locations. The candidates were subsequently allowed to leave for their examination centres after 12.15pm, but were prohibited from carrying the printed copies with them,” the spokesperson added.
The crime reportedly took place after trunks containing the exam papers arrived at the school from the bank vault shortly after 8am on May 5, the day of the examination, according to sources.
The probe agency has arrested 49 individuals, including the main conspirators and those involved in solving the exam, with 40 of them having been charge-sheeted in three reports submitted thus far.