NEET-UG case: CBI conducts searches at seven locations in Gujarat, arrests journalist in Jharkhand
New Delhi, Jun 29: The CBI conducted searches at seven locations in Gujarat on Saturday in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam and arrested a journalist in Jharkhand, officials said.
According to them, Jamaluddin Ansari, a journalist with a Hindi newspaper, was arrested on Friday for allegedly trying to help the principal and vice principal of a Hazaribagh school, both of whom are accused in the paper leak case.
Oasis School's principal Ehsanul Haque and vice principal Imtiaz Alam have already been arrested by the federal probe agency in connection with the medical entrance exam paper leak case.
The CBI on Saturday searched the premises of suspects in Anand, Kheda, Ahmedabad and Godhra districts of Gujarat. The probe agency is investigating a larger conspiracy spread across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand.
A special CBI court in Godhra on Saturday granted the probe agency four-day custody of Jay Jalaram School's principal Purushottam Sharma, teacher Tushar Bhatt, and middlemen Vibhor Anand and Arif Vohra, all of whom are alleged to be involved in irregularities in the May 5 NEET-UG exam in Godhra.
The Gujarat police had arrested five people, including the principal and the teacher, in connection with the paper leak case.
The CBI investigation has shown that the examination centres in Godhra and Kheda chosen by the National Testing Agency (NTA) were controlled by the same school administration, officials said.
According to sources, the accused allegedly asked candidates arranged by them from Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to mark Godhra as their examination centre and choose Gujarati as their language, they said.
"Investigation conducted till date has revealed that the accused persons who were given the responsibility of carrying out the examination in a free, fair and transparent manner were themselves involved in arranging candidates and facilitating them to attain good marks in the NEET exam for a hefty consideration," an official in the known of developments said.
The candidates arranged by the accused allegedly showed Panchmahal and Vadodara in Gujarat as their addresses, officials said.
The agency has claimed "a larger conspiracy" involving "interstate links" in the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, they said.
The officials said the CBI would interrogate Purushottam Sharma, Tushar Bhatt, Vibhor Anand and Arif Vohra, who are understood to possess crucial information pertaining to "exposing the broader conspiracy orchestrating the manipulation of the NEET-UG exam".
The probe agency informed the court that it was essential to further the investigation, unearth the larger conspiracy and bring the masterminds to justice.
The CBI wants to probe the "extent of the connections" of arrested persons in other states from where they have arranged the candidates and their conspiracy with the accused persons of the other FIRs lodged by CBI in other states, officials said.
The CBI has registered six FIRs in the case. The FIR from Bihar pertains to leakage of paper while remaining from Gujarat and Rajasthan pertains to impersonation of candidates and cheating.
The agency's own FIR on a reference from the Union Education Ministry pertains to a "comprehensive investigation" into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination.
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.
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Several Gurugram schools receive hoax bomb threats
Gurugram (PTI): Several Gurugram schools received another hoax bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, prompting police to launch searches on the premises.
Police said the email was sent by the 'Khalistan National Army', with threats issued to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to declare April 29 as the "40th Khalistan Declaration Day". It also threatened to bomb the Red Fort in Delhi.
Police said it was a hoax as no suspicious items were found after an intensive search.
Several schools, including Shri Ram, Amity, and the HDFC school, received threatening emails at 8.33 am, when classes had already begun, police said.
The school administrations became aware of the threats around 9 am and immediately informed the police, a senior police officer said.
The schools immediately implemented emergency protocols, with many declaring a holiday and asking parents to take their children home safely, the officer said.
A large number of anxious parents gathered outside the schools, as police and bomb squad teams reached the spots and started checks.
"Around 10 schools have approached the police from morning until now over bomb threats. Police teams are alert, and searches are underway on all the premises", the officer said.
As soon as the information about this email was received, police in Gurugram and Delhi swung into action and started investigation.
Schools immediately implemented emergency protocols upon receiving the mail. Many schools declared a holiday and sent messages to parents, asking them to take their children home. Large crowds of parents gathered outside the schools.
The schools were sanitised by sending a bomb disposal squad as well as a dog squad.
A senior police officer said that police teams thoroughly searched the school premises, classrooms, buildings, and surrounding areas. No suspicious objects or explosive materials were found during the investigation.
"Police teams are seriously investigating the entire matter. Cyber experts are being consulted to determine the authenticity of the email, its source, and the identity of the sender", added the officer.
This is the third time since January that schools have received fake bomb threats.
In March, at least a dozen schools in the city received bomb threat emails, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Similarly, on January 28, as many as 13 schools received hoax bomb threats via email, forcing authorities to evacuate campuses and suspend classes.
Last month, police arrested a Bangladeshi national whose email ID was allegedly used to make a bomb threat for some payment.
