Patna: In a shocking development in the NEET paper leak case, the prime accused, Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, admitted in his confessional statement to arranging question papers for four exam aspirants a day before the test, demanding Rs 40 lakh from each candidate.

Sources in the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar police revealed that Yadvendu's statement, recorded under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on May 5, detailed his contacts with Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, known for leaking prestigious exam papers like NEET.

Yadvendu confessed to demanding Rs 40 lakh from each aspirant, including his nephew Anurag Yadav, for the leaked question paper on May 4, the day before the exam. Yadvendu, a junior engineer at Bihar's Danapur Town Council, said, "I contacted Nitish and Amit and told them that I have four candidates—Ayush Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, and Shivnandan Kumar."

According to Yadvendu, Nitish and Amit charged Rs 32 lakh per candidate and promised to provide the question paper in advance. On May 4, all four candidates were summoned to a guest house where Nitish and Anand assisted them in "preparing" using the leaked paper. The candidates later confirmed that the same questions appeared in the actual exam on May 5. Yadav, who was preparing for NEET-UG in Kota, Rajasthan, said in his statement, "My uncle spoke to me when I was in Kota and told me he had access to the question paper. I came to Patna, and my uncle introduced me to two people -- Amit and Nitish -- who provided me with the question paper and answer key. They helped me prepare the questions overnight. They were the same questions in the actual question paper on May 5."

The EOU, investigating the case, has arrested 13 people so far, including Yadvendu, Amit, Nitish, other aspirants, and their parents. Sources within the probe agency indicated that investigators are considering recording witness statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Statements made under this section, before a magistrate, are admissible as evidence in court, unlike those recorded under section 161 of the CrPC, which are not considered evidence, sources said.

The NEET-UG 2024, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), saw over 24 lakh candidates participating across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, with results announced on June 4.PTI