NEET case: CBI team reaches EOU office in Patna
Patna (PTI): A CBI team from Delhi reached the office of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police in Patna on Monday morning in connection with its investigation into the allegations of irregularities in medical entrance exam NEET-UG, officials said.
The EOU, which had been investigating the matter until the Centre ordered a probe by the CBI, has arrested 18 people in connection with the case, they said.
"The CBI officers are collecting evidence related to the case from the EOU," an official said.
The CBI had on Sunday filed an FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, which was held on May 5, on a reference from the Education Ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigations by students.
"The evidence collected by the EOU during the course of investigation include pieces of the burnt question paper 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 is also likely to 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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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
