Students under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) stage a protest against the alleged NEET-UG results scam seeking a CBI inquiry, in Nagpur on June 10, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has booked four persons, including two zilla parishad teachers, in connection with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) question paper leak case.
According to sources, three of them — teachers Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Umrakhan Pathan and another person, Iranna Kongalwar — were arrested on Sunday while the fourth accused, Gangadhar from Delhi, is said to be absconding.
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The Nanded branch of the ATS had detained both Mr. Jadhav and Mr. Pathan on Saturday and let them off after questioning. However, they were arrested on Sunday evening as evidence mounted against them.
Mr. Jadhav works at a zilla parishad school in Solapur while Mr. Pathan is a teacher in a zilla parishad school in Latur. Both ran private coaching classes in Latur district and have been accused of selling exam-related information to students in exchange of money.
A case was registered against the four accused at the Shivajinagar police station in Latur on Sunday night. An FIR has been lodged under Sections 3(v), 4 and 10 of The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024 along with Sections 420 (cheating), 120 (b) (pertaining to criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Special team
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up under Latur city sub-divisional police officer Bhagwat Funde to investigate the case and a thorough probe is under way, said officials.
Earlier, the ATS team raided the residences of Mr. Jadhav and Mr. Pathan after the duo reportedly exchanged suspicious messages pertaining to exam hall tickets, besides financial transactions on their phones.
Officials suspect Mr. Jadhav of having relayed hall ticket details to Mr. Kongalwar, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) instructor, who then forwarded them to Mr. Gangadhar in Delhi, suspected to be the mastermind behind the leak.