Candidates, Parents, ‘Kingpins’ Named In CBI’s 1st NEET Chargesheet

Filing its first chargesheet in the NEET-UG paper leak case on Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named 13 people, including four candidates, a junior engineer and two kingpins. The paper leak for the medical entrance exam had sparked protests in several parts of the country and prompted demands for a re-test, but the Supreme Court had ruled against that, noting that there had not been a systemic breach. 

Stating that the parents of some students were also named in the document, officials from the CBI said that the agency will also file at least one supplementary chargesheet as the investigations are in an advanced stage.

Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand are the two kingpins while the four candidates who feature in the chargesheet are Ayush Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, and Shivnandan Kumar. Sikander Yadvendu, a junior engineer from Bihar’s Danapur Town Council, is also named in the document. 

All 13 accused, including the four examinees, were booked under sections dealing with criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.

During its investigation so far, the CBI believes that Nitish Kumar, a resident of Patna’s Gopalpur, is the main accused and allegedly one of four “setters”. He, along with Amit Anand and Sikander Yadvendu, hatched a conspiracy to leak the paper for a price of ₹ 30-32 lakh per student.

The probe also revealed that Yadvendu had told Kumar and Anand that he had four students who were ready to buy papers. “Four students were called by Amit on the night of May 4 (the eve of the exam) and made to solve the leaked question paper and memorise answers,” states the chargesheet.