Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha asserted on Thursday that an aide of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is associated with the alleged paper leaks and discrepancies in NEET-UG 2024.
During a press conference regarding NEET, Sinha mentioned a connection to “Minister NHAI,” stating that he had conducted a departmental investigation. He alleged that on May 1, Tejashwi’s PS Pritam Kumar contacted RCD employee Pradeep to reserve a room in the NHAI guest house for Sikandar Kumar.
Sinha claimed that Pritam Kumar, who served as Tejashwi Yadav’s personal secretary during his ministerial tenure, contacted a Bihar road construction department employee on May 1 and May 4 to book a room for Sikandar Kumar Yadavendu, an engineer implicated in the NEET-UG question paper leak.
Explaining the NHAI guest house rules, Sinha stated that a maximum of three rooms can be booked for three days, with only NHAI authorized to book more rooms. He suggested that a CBI inquiry into Pritam Kumar and Tejashwi would clarify who is behind the paper leak.
Sinha also noted that in Bihar, not only ministers but also staff and former ministers are referred to as “Minister Ji,” implying that Pritam made the booking using this title. He alleged that a relationship between Pritam and Sikandar Yadav is evident, and the room was booked in Tejashwi’s name.
Meanwhile, the confession of accused student Anurag Yadav, arrested in Patna, revealed that he was preparing for the NEET exam at a coaching center in Kota when his uncle Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, a junior engineer in Nagar Parishad Danapur, informed him about the exam’s arrangement. Anurag stated that he memorized the questions and answers the night before the exam and found all the questions in the exam the next day.
The investigation also revealed that Anurag Yadav’s name was in the entry register of the NHAI guest house, with “Minister Ji” written in brackets. Earlier, JE Sikandar and Ayush, accused of paper leaks, also confessed to their crime.
The Ministry of Education has requested a detailed report on the matter from Bihar’s investigation agency EOU.