NEET paper leak row: ‘Solver gang’ member arrested; 68 questions in original paper recovered from burnt scraps.

The EOU claimed that Baldev Kumar was an ally of the solver gang’s leader Sanjeev Kumar. The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar police, which was investigating the paper leak case in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG before handing it over to CBI, revealed on Sunday that it arrested a member of the “solver gang” who received a solved question paper a day before the exam was scheduled on June 5. Among the five people arrested by the Bihar police on Sunday from Jharkhand’s Deoghar was Baldev Kumar. The EOU claimed that Kumar was an ally of the gang’s kingpin Sanjeev Kumar. ‘Solver Gang’ is an alleged network led by Ravi Atri. The gang specialises in obtaining and circulating solver question papers via various mediums, including social media, to students willing to pay the right price. “Based on the available evidence, the solved question papers of NEET UG-2024 examination held on 05.05.2024 were received on mobile by this gang,” Indian Express quoted the EOU. “Baldev Kumar had received the PDF file of the solved question paper on his mobile in the morning of May 5. Its copies were taken out from the Wi-Fi printer kept in the school. Groups of candidates were formed and they were made to memorise them,” EOU told the Indian Express. The EOU, which took over the investigation from Patna Police on May 17, announced that the case would be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Earlier, on May 5, Patna Police had arrested 13 people for the alleged paper leak. Baldev Kumar, who hails from Bihar Sharif in Nalanda district, was living in a rented place in Patna. The other arrested “solver gang members” include Mukesh Kumar from Agamkuan in Patna, Panku Kumar from Chhabilapur in Nalanda, Rajeev Kumar alias Karu from Ekangarsarai in Nalanda, and Paramjit Singh alias Bittu from Chhabilapur in Nalanda, Indian Express reported. Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand is the main suspected center, while St Xavier’s School, DAV Public School, Holy Cross School, and Vivekananda Central School in the city are also being investigated.