The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the NEET-UG question paper leak case, will soon seek custody of the 18 accused for interrogation.
At present, all the accused – 13 from Patna and five from Jharkhand – are in judicial custody. They were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOU), which was earlier investigating the case before it was handed over to the CBI on Monday.
Sources said that as the investigation progresses, the CBI will also investigate money transactions, including the commission given to middlemen, in the case.
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On the second consecutive day on Tuesday, the four-member CBI team held another round of meeting with the EOU officials in Patna to gather more information on the case. The CBI team held meetings with EOU Additional Director General Nayyar Hasnain Khan and Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra.
The investigation report submitted by the EOU to the CBI includes details of the accused, the method of paper leak, money transactions, and past records of the accused.
According to sources, the evidence collected by the EOU so far includes pieces of a partially burnt question paper recovered from a play school, mobile phones of the arrested people, SIM cards, laptops, and post-dated cheques.
Bail hearing
Meanwhile, a Patna court took up the bail petitions of the 13 accused on Tuesday. Hearing the petitions, Additional District Judge Rajendra Kumar Singh of the Patna Civil Court asked the accused to seek bail from the Special CBI Court as the case is now being investigated by the Central agency. An anticipatory bail plea was also filed by one of the key accused, Sanjiv Mukhiya, who is absconding.
“The hearing of the bail plea of 13 accused and the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused, Sanjeev Mukhiya, will be held in the Special CBI Court on July 15,” public prosecutor Uday Shankar Singh said.
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According to the sources, the Bihar Police and EOU have also submitted evidence to the CBI indicating that the paper was leaked 48 hours prior to the exam.
BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary lashed out at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for sharing online his photo with Amit Anand, one of the accused arrested in the case.
“He has gone mad and I cannot do anything. The CBI has already taken over the case and nobody would be spared,” Mr. Choudhary said.
