NEET row: Prime accused confesses to charging Rs 40 lakh for providing question paper

Startling revelations have come to fore in the alleged NEET paper leak case after seven people including four students and a Junior Engineer were arrested by Patna police last week .

According to a PTI report, the prime accused of the case, Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, a Junior Engineer at Bihar's Danapur Town Council has told police that he charged Rs 40 lakh from each candidate including his nephew for providing the question paper, a day before the exam.

The medical entrance exam has been marred with controversies since the day, the results were announced, and after the confession of the accused, the involvement of a 'Mantriji' (minister) has also come to fore. BJP has alleged that an aide of Bihar's former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav is involved in the case.

Apart from Yadvendu, the prime accused in the case, two problem solvers Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand have also been arrested. Kumar and Anand are infamous for leaking question papers of other government exams like BPSC and UPSC as well.

In their confessions, Kumar and Anand said that they were contacted by Yadvendu who asked for question papers for four NEET-UG aspirants. The duo charged Rs 32 lakh per aspirant. In turn, Yadvendu charged Rs 40 lakh from each student.

A day before the exam, on May 4, the four candidates were made to stay at a government guest house, where they were provided the question paper. The problem solver duo also helped the candidates solve the paper and learn the answers overnight.

According to an India Today report, Anurag Yadav, one of the accused candidates and Yadvendu's nephew has confessed that the same questions appeared in the actual NEET exam on May 5. Anurag also told police that he was introduced to Kumar and Anand by his uncle a day before the exam. Another candidate Shivanandan Kumar, who happens to have family connections with Yadvendu also confessed to the same thing.

The India Today report also cites the confession letters of parents of the other two accused. Both of them admitted to paying Rs 40 lakh to Yadvendu in exchange of the question paper.

"Two blank cheques from my account were handed over to Yadvendu in return for passing my son in the NEET exam," Awdhesh Kumar, father of candidate Abhishek Kumar wrote in his letter. "The deal was settled at Rs 40 lakh."

Meanwhile, Yadvendu also admitted to arranging the stay of the four NEET candidates and the mother of one of them at a government guest house in Patna.

Bill books of the guest house mentioned a 'Mantri Ji' who allegedly facilitated the stay of Yadvendu's nephew and his mother, reported India Today.

Earlier on Thursday, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha alleged that the arrested prime accused in the NEET "paper leak" is linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and demanded an investigation into it.

The name of Pritam Kumar, who is the personal assistant of Tejashwi Yadav, is also making the headlines for allegedly helping in booking the guest house for Yadvendu.