NEET exam row: Patna court sends accused Baldev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar to CBI remand

Patna (Bihar) [India], June 26 : The Special CBI Court in Patna has sent two accused in the NEET question paper leak case to be placed on CBI remand following a request from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday.
Accused Baldev Kumar Alias Chintu and Mukesh Kumar were remanded to the custody of CBI, which is probing the NEET-UG question paper leak case. At present, 18 accused have been placed in custody for interrogation.
The hearing in the NEET paper leak case was completed today on the bench of CBI Special Judicial Magistrate Harsh Vardhan Singh.
The CBI gave its decision in the CBI court on the application to take the accused on remand.
The court sent the accused, Chintu Kumar and Mukesh Kumar, on CBI remand.
Now the CBI will take them on remand and conduct further interrogation.
Days after the Union Health Ministry postponed the National Eligibility and Entrance Test postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 examination slated for June 23, President of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences Abhijat Sheth said on Tuesday that the SOPs and protocols will be reviewed as soon as possible and the next date for the examination will be declared by next week.
Sheth's statement came after a review meeting held between officials of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences and the Union Health Ministry, to assess the situation and input received by the government before postponing the examination.
The government has postponed the NEET-PG 2024 examinations following rising controversy regarding alleged "irregularities" in the NEET-UG exam held on May 5.
The Bihar government issued a notification on Monday regarding handing over the NEET-UG paper leak case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Notably, the Bihar government handed over the investigation of alleged irregularities in the 2024 NEET-UG exam to the CBI for a thorough probe.
After taking over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG exams in 2024, the CBI formed special teams to investigate the case, the central agency said in a statement on Sunday.
This comes after the central government entrusted the CBI with the matter of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam in 2024 for a comprehensive investigation.
"National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the NEET (UG) Examination on May 5, 2024, in OMR (pen and paper) mode. Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation, and malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, after a review, has decided to entrust the matter to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation," the government said.
The NTA, which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams.This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.
An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720, which added to the concerns.
Facing protests in several parts of the country as well as attacks from the opposition, the Centre removed the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) from his post amid the controversy over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and the cancellation of the UGC-NET Exam.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Personnel announced that Subodh Kumar Singh, who was the director general of the NTA, has been replaced by retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola.
Kharola is the Chairman and Managing Editor of the India Trade Promotion Organisation and has been given additional charge as the director general of the NTA "till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders".
The move comes hours after the government constituted a committee that will give recommendations to improve the functioning of the agency and a day before around 1,500 students who had been given grace marks for NEET-UG are scheduled to take a retest.
The Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear petitions on the issue on July 8.
Earlier on Saturday, the government constituted a seven-member committee to look at ways of improving the functioning of the NTA.
Nearly 24 lakh students had appeared for the NEET-UG 2024 for undergraduate medical courses, which is conducted by the National Testing Agency, on May 5. The results were announced on June 4, 10 days before schedule, but allegations of question paper leaks and grace marks to over 1,500 students triggered protests. Cases were also filed in courts, including the Supreme Court, which has rapped the NTA.
On Wednesday, the Education Ministry cancelled the UGC-NET exam, also conducted by the NTA, just a day after it was held. Over 9 lakh candidates appeared for the exam, which is held for assistant professor posts in universities and colleges and to determine eligibility for junior research fellowships.
Pradhan said the UGC chairman had received information from the cyber crime team in the Home Ministry about questions being on the darknet.The CSIR UGC NET - similar to the UGC NET, but for science students - was postponed on Friday and NEET PG was pushed back on Saturday.
INDIA alliance, which won 232 seats in the recently held Lok Sabha elections and kept the BJP from winning a majority on its own, has also been attacking the Centre over the issue.