NEET-UG paper leak: AIIMS Patna to hold meetings to take action against 4 arrested MBBS students

Patna/New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, will hold meetings of its academic and administrative committees to take appropriate action against four of its MBBS students who are in CBI custody in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, an official said on Thursday.

Gopal Krushna Pal, the institute's executive director & CEO, expressed regret over the incident's impact on student morale and the organisation's reputation.

Pal said, "Soon after receiving confirmation from the CBI that all four MBBS students of AIIMS Patna have been arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, we called meetings of our academic and administrative committees to take appropriate action against them. The process has been initiated, and decisions regarding their actions will be made by tomorrow." The CBI on Thursday arrested four MBBS students of AIIMS Patna as part of their investigation into the NEET-UG paper leak case.

The CBI arrested three third-year MBBS students — Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, Kumar Shanu — and one second-year student, Karan Jain, following extensive questioning. They were apprehended from their hostel rooms in the presence of senior faculty members, whose cooperation had been sought in advance by the agency. The students' hostel rooms have since been sealed.

Pal emphasised, "This development has adversely affected the morale of other students and the institute's reputation. Those involved must face consequences. We will also issue stern warnings to prevent such incidents in the future." The four arrests were made two days after the agency arrested Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a 2017-batch civil engineer from the National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), who allegedly stole the NEET-UG paper from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh. Kumar, a resident of Bokaro, was arrested from Patna, officials said.

The CBI had also arrested one Raju Singh who allegedly helped Kumar in stealing the paper, they said.

The CBI, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has lodged six FIRs. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leak while the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are regarding impersonation of candidates and cheating.

The agency's own FIR on a reference from the Union education ministry pertains to a "comprehensive investigation" into the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024.

The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. This year, the exam was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. More than 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the test. PTI