NEET-UG Case: 13 accused held, mobile phone & other docs recovered from them, Bihar govt tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Bihar government has told the Supreme Court that its state police have arrested 13 accused persons and recovered mobile phones and other incriminating materials from them as it started its probe into the allegations of paper leak, malpractices and other irregularities in connection with the conduct of the NEET-UG examination on May 5.

The state government filed an affidavit in the top court even as the investigation has been entrusted to the CBI.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions seeking re-test of the NEET-UG examination on Monday, July 8.

The state government said the police registered an FIR in Shastrinagar Police Station in Patna on May 5 itself under various Sections of the IPC, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 407 (criminal breach of trust) and others and arrested these 13 accused for their alleged role in the exam.

"The State agencies carried out detailed and scientific investigation. Some of the accused person were found be involved in other similar offences in past. Even the candidates were questioned. Four candidates were also arrested who admitted their involvement in illegalities," it said.

The investigation, however, was transferred on May 20 to the Economic Offences Unit, Patna. Firstly the District Police and then EOU carried out the investigation. In view of seriousness and gravity of the offence and the possible link attached to other States, an eight member SIT has been formed on May 20, under the Superintendent of Police, to investigate this case, the state government said. 

The progress of the investigation was then regularly reviewed and monitored by the Deputy Inspector General, Additional Director General of Police, EOU, it said. 

"EOU found involvement of many more persons and even from the State of Jharkhand. The EOU detained 6 additional suspects for questioning in the intervening night of June 20-21. Thereafter two accused persons (one out of six suspects questioned) were arrested by the EOU also after a day," the affidavit said.

The state government also submitted a report on June 20, to the Union government's Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, Bihar said. 

On June 23, the CBI requested Bihar to transfer the pending case to it in view of s letter sent by the Government of India, Ministry of Education. The state government, responding to it, issued notification and accorded its consent for taking over of the investigation of the case by the CBI, it pointed out.

After the matter was transferred to the CBI by the Union Government on June 23, the central agency immediately took charge of the case being investigated by the state agencies and handed over the case records on June 24, it said.

In two separate affidavits, the Union government as well as the National Testing Agency, which conducted the all India test on May 5 for admission to undergraduate courses in government and private medical colleges across the country, opposed the plea for cancelling the examination in its entirety.