(This article is part of Paper Heist, The Quint's special project bringing out the inside story of India's paper leak scandal. Please support our coverage and help us do more such deep-dive stories.)
While hearing the matter on alleged paper leaks in the NEET-UG exam, the Supreme Court on Thursday, 18 July directed the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police to submit its report before the court by 5 pm on Saturday.
It asked Bihar Police to submit the data collected by it before the case was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month. 34 persons have been reportedly arrested so far by Bihar Police, EOU and CBI in connection with allegations of paper leak by an organised gang in Patna, Bihar.
During the hearing, senior counsel Narender Hooda, appearing for a few of the petitioners, contended that the leak was widespread and systemic as there was a security breach while transporting the question papers to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta refuted these allegations saying there is “a 7-layer safety system” and that the CBI has investigated “the entire chain – from the printers to the centre.”
However, a press release by EOU, Bihar issued on 23 June – before the case was handed over to CBI – linked “burnt question papers” found at a Patna school to those at an exam centre in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. It also pointed at possible “tampering” with packaging of question papers.
The Quint looks at the alleged link between the two centres in Patna and Hazaribagh as well as the findings of EOU of Bihar Police:
‘Code on Burnt Question Papers from Patna Matches Hazaribagh School’
It may be recalled that a First Information Report (FIR) was filed at Shastri Nagar police station of Patna on 5 May, the day the NEET-UG exam was conducted, on allegations of paper leak.
The FIR stated that members of an organised gang had shared the question paper and answer key with several students a night before the exam, The Quint reported earlier.
%20(1).jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
One of the gang members – Sikander Yadvendu, a junior engineer at Danapur municipal committee – had confessed to the police that several students across Patna received the NEET UG question papers. A night before the exam, these candidates were allegedly taken to Learn Boys Hostel and Play School, where they were made to memorise the answers. For this, the gang reportedly took Rs 30-50 lakh each from the candidates.
Remains of burnt question papers were seized from the school, The Indian Express had reported citing EOU sources.
“When these question papers were equated with original ones sent by National Testing Agency (NTA), the two matched on preliminary investigation,” the EOU press release stated.
Further, on checking the serial code of the exam centre mentioned on the burnt question paper, it was found to be that of Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The private school is CBSE-affiliated and was a designated NTA exam centre.
“...prima facie, the polybag suspected of packing the question paper, the packing of the original question paper recovered from the concerned candidate and the concerned packing trunk have been found to be tampered with on preliminary investigation,” EOU stated.
Where Did the Breach Happen? Answer Lies in Chain of Custody
EOU Bihar stated that intensive research was being done to detect at what level and what time the exact breach happened.
In their response submitted to the Supreme Court on 10 July, the NTA had said that after they were printed, question papers were dispatched for Hazaribagh, Jharkhand in sealed iron trunks on 28 April. The iron trunks are sealed using a mechanical lock and a GPS-enabled digital lock.
A private courier company is tasked with loading the sealed trunks into “dedicated closed body vehicles” and delivering the question papers to the concerned custodian – SBI or Canara banks.
According to the NTA, sealed iron trunks carrying NEET UG question papers, were delivered to SBI bank in Hazaribagh on 3 May and were kept in the safety vault of the bank.
However, in its press note issued on 23 June, the EOU had stated that the prescribed security protocols, related to transportation, storage and handover “were not fully complied with due to which, tampering with boxes and envelopes carrying question papers could not be detected.”
When the EOU team confiscated these boxes and enveloped carrying question papers, they noticed one envelope was opened at the wrong end, The Indian Express reported citing sources. The tamper-proof envelopes must be opened at a designated end, which all the exam staff are trained to do.
Oasis School Principal Ahsanul Haque, in a press conference on 24 June, told reporters that “there is no possibility of leak at the school” since the question papers were received by the exam centre on 5 May and envelopes were opened 15 minutes before the exam.
Haque alleged, “The cut on the wrong side of the envelope, as mentioned by the EOU, was done in a precise and sophisticated manner, which could have been detected by the common man.”
He claimed that there was some “negligence” on part of the bank and the courier company.
CBI Arrests Pankaj Kumar For Stealing Question Paper from Hazaribagh
During the hearing, Hooda submitted that the trunk carrying the question papers was found being taken on an e-rickshaw on the 3 May in Hazaribagh.
The CBI on 28 June arrested Oasis School Principal Haque and Vice Principal Imtiaz Alam, who was the exam centre coordinator. The investigating agency also questioned the e-rickshaw driver who delivered the question papers to the bank, and the courier company employee, who was present in the e-rickshaw during delivery, The Hindu reported.
Earlier this week, CBI arrested Pankaj Kumar from Patna. Kumar, a resident of Bokaro in Jharkhand, has been named as key accused in stealing the NEET question paper from the trunk in Hazaribagh. He has been sent to judicial custody till 30 July.
On 18 July, the CBI also arrested four undergraduate students of AIIMS, Patna for allegedly helping in solving the leaked question paper. They were appointed by Rakesh Ranjan, alias Rocky, an aide of Sanjeev Mukhiya, the alleged ‘kingpin’ in the case, The Hindu reported citing sources. While Ranjan was arrested earlier this month, Mukhiya is reportedly absconding.
To ascertain malpractices in the conduct of the exam, the Supreme Court has directed the NTA to publish marks obtained by the students, without disclosing their identity, in a city-wise and centre-wise manner by noon on Saturday. The top court will hear the matter next on 22 July, Monday.
With inputs from Mohan Kumar, Quint Hindi
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)