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NEW DELHI — The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024 paper leak fiasco saw a fresh twist on Thursday with the accused persons confessing before the police that question papers were arranged for certain candidates a day before the exam for which the aspirants shelled out close to INR 30-32 lakh.
The shocking confession came from four persons arrested by the Bihar Police, including a NEET aspirant named Anurag Yadav, his uncle Sikandar Yadavendu - a junior engineer in the Danapur Municipal Council, and two others named Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, the purported mastermind behind the paper leak.
They admitted before the police that the question papers were provided to them a day before the NEET that was conducted on May 5.
Anurag Yadav confessed before 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 all the answers. When I sat for the test the next day, I saw it had the same questions which were 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 question papers for NEET would be leaked and it would cost about INR 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 all four students to a place where aspirants were already cramming up answers for all the questions.
"Out of greed, I asked for INR 40 lakh from each student instead of the original amount. However, I was later caught by the police,” Yadavendu said, revealing the chain of events leading to the NEET paper leak.
Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, in their statement to the police, admitted their role in the paper leak and revealed how their collusion with Yadavendu led to their arrest.
“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 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.