UGC-NET paper leak: CBI team attacked in Bihar's Nawada, 4 arrested

NEW DELHI: A CBI team investigating alleged irregularities in the UGC-NET examination was attacked by locals in Bihar's Nawada on Saturday while they were looking for individuals suspected of being involved in the UGC-NET question paper leak case. The driver of a vehicle sustained minor injuries, as per sources.
The officers contacted the local police when they were heckled by a mob that gathered around their vehicles in Kasiadeeh village, following which additional force was dispatched from Rajauli police station to handle the situation.
Villagers mistook the investigators for frauds who were pretending to be from the CBI, as per the local officials. The CBI officers had arrived at the village based on the location of the mobile phone numbers of the suspect.
"CBI officials were looking for a villager, Phool Chand, in connection with the UGC-NET question paper case case. hey seized two mobile phones from the house of Phool Chand," said a senior police official.
4 persons were later arrested by the local police based on a complaint filed by the central agency and sent to the judicial custody. They have been charged with disrupting government work, assault, and other offenses, officials told news agency PTI.
"A team of CBI officials was gheroed, manhandled and attacked by a group of villagers in Kasiyadih village, under the jurisdiction of Rajauli police station, at around 4:30 pm on Saturday. Immediately after receiving the information, a team of police officials led by the station house officer (SHO) of the Rajauli police station reached the spot and pacified the villagers, following which the situation was brought under control," the office of the Superintendent of Police of Nawada said in a statement on Sunday.
The central agency had initiated an investigation into the UGC-NET paper leak case on Thursday, registering an FIR against unidentified individuals based on a reference from the Union education ministry.
The UGC-NET-2024 exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 18, which was later cancelled after University Grants Commission received information that the paper was available on the darknet and was being sold for Rs 5-6 lakh on messaging platforms, according to sources.
The complaint from the education ministry stated that the inputs from I4C, which operates under the Union home ministry, "prima-facie indicate that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised", officials said.
CBI to probe into alleged irregularities in NEET-UG exam
The central government on Saturday handed over the investigation of alleged irregularities into the 2024 NEET-UG exam to Central Bureau of Investigation.
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on May 5", an official from the education ministry said.
"For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, it was decided after a review that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," the official added.
Earlier, NTA director general Subodh Kumar Singh was also removed from his post and put on "compulsory wait" in DoPT.
Meanwhile, Pradeep Singh Kharola was given additional charge of the post of Director General, National Testing Agency (NTA).