CBI probe extends to Kerala in NEET leak case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The widening investigation into the NEET question paper leak has now cast a shadow over Kerala, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the possible involvement of students from two districts in the state.

Investigators suspect that a ‘model question paper’, allegedly prepared from the leaked original NEET paper, had reached several students in Kerala days before the examination.

The Kerala connection surfaced after the Rajasthan Police handed over details of nearly 200 students believed to have accessed the leaked paper.

Among them are students linked to Kerala, while investigators are also probing the role of a medical student from Churu, Rajasthan, currently studying in the state.

Officials suspect he acted as a key link in circulating the paper among aspirants in Kerala.

The CBI has now widened its investigation to 10 states and formed a special investigation team, deploying four separate squads to track the network behind what is emerging as one of the biggest entrance exam frauds in recent years.

Preliminary findings suggest the leak originated not during transportation of question papers, as seen in earlier scams, but directly from the printing press in Nashik, Maharashtra, where this year’s NEET paper was printed.