• Source:JND
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NEET Paper Leak News: The row over the irregularities in the NEET exam has intensified as aspirants along with parents, civil society organisations and political parties took to the streets, alleging a 'paper leak'. The case has also reached the judicial corridors, as several petitions were filed by coaching institutes, students and their parents, urging the Supreme Court to press for a fair investigation, re-exam and strict punishment of the culprits.

The uproar intensified after Bihar Police's Economic Offence Unit arrested one Sikandar Yadvendu, the alleged mastermind behind the NEET 2024 paper leak. Yadvendu has been accused of sourcing and distributing the NEET question papers to his nephew Anurag Yadav and several other aspirants for Rs 30 lakh each. The EOU has also arrested 12 more people in the case, including 4 NEET aspirants and their families from Bihar. Several other aspirants and their family members have been issued notices to join the EOU probe, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Manavjit Singh Dhillon said. He further said that among these seven are from Bihar, one from Uttar Pradesh, and one from Maharashtra.

NEET Paper Leak: Full Picture

On May 5, Bihar police arrested Anurag Yadav, his uncle Sikandar Yadvendu along with two others - Nitish Kumar and Anand. Anurag Yadav told the Bihar Police that his uncle Sikandar promised to provide the exam paper, days before the exam in lieu of Rs 30 lakh.

The arrested accused told the police they were taken to a rented accommodation in Patna's Ramkrishna Nagar, where, they were given question paper and the answers. They were kept in the "safe house" till the day of the exam.

Who Is Sikandar Yadvendu, NEET Exam Leak Mastermind?

Arrested as the prime accused in the case, 56-year-old Sikandar Yadvendu is a junior engineer at the municipal corporation of Danapur. An engineering diploma holder, he comes from a farmer's family and used to work as a contractor till 2012, the Indian Express reported. Sikandar Yadvendu's father, a small Samastipur farmer held around 8 bigha of land.

Yadvendu secured a job as a junior engineer in the state's water resources department in 2012 when the NDA was in power in the state. Earlier, while acting as in charge, he was booked in a Rs 2.92 crore LED scam in the Rohtas Municipal Council. He was arrested for siphoning off public money by buying LEDs at inflated prices, and later released on bail, IE reported.

As his closeness with political circles in Bihar surfaced, a slugfest erupted over Yadvendu's arrest. While Bihar deputy CM Vijay Sinha attacked RJD and former Dy CM Tejhaswi Yadav, alleging his personal secretary's role in booking a room at NHAI guesthouse for Yadvendu, Lalu Yadav's son alleged BJP wants to save two other accused in the case.