The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation into alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam on Sunday, deploying teams across multiple states. Concurrently, the Economic Offenses Unit of the Bihar Police arrested five individuals in connection with the NEET paper leak, bringing the total number of arrests in the state to 18.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), facing criticism for the cancellation and postponement of several competitive exams, has disqualified 17 students from exam centers in Bihar due to detected “malpractices.” So far, 110 students have faced similar sanctions since the controversy began.

Here are 10 key points about the NEET scandal:

1. On Sunday, out of 1,563 students asked to retake the NEET exam due to the grace marks controversy, only 813 appeared. The NTA awarded grace marks to compensate for delays at six centers on May 5, which allegedly inflated scores, contributing to six
candidates from a single center in Haryana achieving perfect 720 marks. Nationwide, 67 students scored full marks in the NEET-UG exam.

2. The CBI registered an FIR in the NEET-UG case under sections 20-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating). The governments of Bihar and Gujarat also transferred their NEET-UG paper leak cases to the CBI on Sunday.

3. Patna police arrested five individuals on Sunday evening, detained from Deoghar, Jharkhand. All are residents of Nalanda: Baldev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Panku Kumar, Rajeev Kumar, and Paramjeet Singh.

4. Baldev Kumar, linked to the notorious Sanjeev Kumar alias Lutan Mukhiya gang, allegedly received the NEET-UG solved answer sheet in PDF format on his mobile phone a day before the exam. The Mukhiya gang, accused of multiple interstate paper leaks, reportedly supplied the leaked answer sheet.

5. Baldev and his associates printed the answer sheet for students at a safe house in Patna’s Ram Krishna Nagar on May 4. Previously arrested Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand had brought the students to the safe house.

6. The NEET-UG question paper was sourced from a private school in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, by the Mukhiya gang, according to the police.

7. Investigators recovered a partially burnt question paper at the Patna safe house, which matched the reference question paper provided by the NTA, confirming the leak’s origin.

8. The NTA has disqualified 63 students in Bihar for cheating in the NEET exam. On Saturday, it disqualified 30 students from Godhara, Gujarat. With 17 more recently disqualified, the total now stands at 110. An NTA official confirmed, “Based on received inputs, 17 candidates from Bihar centers were disqualified, bringing the total to 110.”

9. The Ministry of Education has instructed the CBI to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and evidence destruction by candidates, institutions, and intermediaries, including potential involvement of public servants.

10. A high-level Central government panel, led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan, formed to suggest exam reforms and review the NTA’s functioning, is set to meet on Monday.