CBI team to visit Patna, may take those arrested in NEET case to Delhi for questioning
Patna (PTI): A CBI team is expected to visit Patna on Monday and may take those arrested in the NEET-UG paper leak case to Delhi for questioning, officials said.
The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police has arrested 18 people in connection with the case so far, they said.
CBI officers are likely to collect evidence related to the case from the EOU, which had been investigating the matter until the Centre ordered a probe by the federal agency, they added.
The CBI had on Sunday filed an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in medical entrance exam NEET-UG, which was held on May 5, on a reference from the Education Ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigations by students for a probe into the allegations of paper leak.
"The CBI team is expected to visit the EOU office around 11.30 am and collect all evidence, including the pieces of the burnt question paper that was recovered from a house in Patna, mobile phones of those arrested, SIM cards, laptops, post-dated cheques and reference questions papers provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA)," an EOU officer said.
"All those arrested are in judicial custody in Patna, and the CBI team may take them to Delhi for detailed interrogation by obtaining transit remand from a court here," he said.
The CBI may file multiple FIRs in connection with the matter to probe the destruction of evidence, and also register disproportionate assets (DA) cases against some of those accused who are public servants, he said.
"A DA case may be registered against arrested accused Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, a junior engineer in Danapur Town Council, as he reportedly acquired huge assets that are disproportionate to his known source of income," the officer said.
Yadvendu, originally from Samastipur, has been identified as the prime suspect in the case, he said.
"He has a history of involvement in criminal activities. Before becoming a junior engineer in 2012, he worked as a contractor in Ranchi. He was previously implicated in an LED scam worth Rs 3 crore. He has served a jail sentence for his role in that case," the officer said.
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Unemployed 'youngsters like cockroaches' become media, activists; attack system: CJI
New Delhi (PTI): Likening some unemployed youngsters to cockroaches, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Friday said they go on to "become" media, social media and RTI activists and start attacking the system.
The comments came while a bench of CJI Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was pulling up a lawyer for "pursuing" a senior advocate designation. It said there were already "parasites" in society who attack the system and asked the petitioner whether he wanted to join hands with them.
"The entire world may be eligible to become senior (advocate), but at least you are not entitled," the bench told the petitioner lawyer.
A visibly anguished CJI observed that if the Delhi High Court would confer senior advocate designation upon the petitioner, the apex court would set that aside seeing his professional conduct.
The CJI also referred to the kind of language used by the petitioner on Facebook.
"There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them?" he said.
"There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment or have any place in profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists and they start attacking everyone," he said.
The bench also asked the petitioner whether he did not have any other litigation.
"Is this the conduct of a person who seeks to be designated as a senior advocate?" the bench asked.
It said senior advocate designation is something that is conferred on a person and is not to be pursued.
"You are pursuing it. Does it look proper?" the top court said, asking whether a senior advocate designation was a status symbol to be kept ornamentally.
It also observed that it wanted to ask the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the degrees of many of those who were wearing black robes as there were serious doubts over the genuineness of their degrees.
It said the Bar Council of India would never do anything on this issue as they "need their votes".
The petitioner apologised to the bench and sought permission to withdraw the petition. The bench allowed the withdrawal of the petition.
