A scandal has emerged surrounding the NEET UG-2024 entrance exam results, involving a Bihar engineer who has made significant confessions.

An engineer stationed at Bihar’s Danapur Nagar Parishad, Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, has confessed in a letter that has recently come to light, claiming involvement in facilitating the stay of NEET candidates and disclosing a connection to a high-ranking official referred to as ‘Mantri Ji’.

According to Yadavendu’s confession, he arranged accommodations in Patna for four NEET candidates and one guardian. His nephew, NEET aspirant Anurag Yadav, accompanied by his mother Reena Kumari, traveled to Patna for the NEET 2024 exam. Anurag allegedly expressed a desire for guaranteed results, prompting Yadavendu to make logistical arrangements for him and three other candidates: Ayush Raj, Shivanandan Kumar, and Abhishek Kumar.

Yadavendu further claimed involvement with a racket responsible for leaking question papers for not only NEET but also the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams. Records at a guest house in Patna, marked as National Highways, Gulzarbagh Division, confirmed Anurag’s stay. These records, containing rough bills, mentioned ‘Mantri Ji,’ who allegedly facilitated the accommodation for Anurag and his associates. The guest house, situated near Patna Zoo and Patna Airport, had staff who were unaware of the guests due to their later employment.

In response to the controversy, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha assured action against those involved. He stated, “Those arrested at the guest house are linked to one Pritam, who is said to be connected to former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.” Sinha has issued warnings within his department regarding the issue.

This development follows the Supreme Court’s criticism of the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding alleged paper leaks and malpractices in the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The court demanded a response from the Centre and the NTA, emphasizing the need for strict accountability.

Meanwhile, the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) recently recovered six post-dated cheques, believed to be payments of Rs 30 lakh each for the leaked question papers. The EOU is awaiting reference question papers from the NTA to proceed with forensic examinations.

So far, 13 individuals from Bihar have been arrested in connection with the case, including four examinees and their family members. Additionally, the EOU has issued notices to nine candidates (seven from Bihar, one from Uttar Pradesh, and one from Maharashtra) to join the investigation.