New Delhi, May 20: A Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday remanded five accused to judicial custody after their interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the NEET-UG paper leak case.
The court also extended the CBI custody of accused Shubham Khairnar by five days.
Special CBI Judge Ajay Gupta sent Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Yash Yadav and Dhananjay Lokhande to judicial custody till June 2.
It is alleged that Shubham Khairnar obtained the examination paper through a source in the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The CBI sought further custody of Khairnar to investigate the larger conspiracy and confront him with electronic evidence. The agency also submitted that he needed to be taken to Maharashtra for further investigation. It was alleged that he had distributed the leaked paper to several other individuals as well.
The CBI produced accused Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar, Yash Yadav and Dhananjay Lokhande before the court after the expiry of their custody period.
Investigating Officer and Deputy SP Pawan Kumar Kaushik moved applications seeking judicial custody for the accused and an extension of CBI custody for Khairnar.
Senior Public Prosecutors Neetu Singh and VK Pathak appeared for the CBI and submitted that Khairnar's custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the larger conspiracy and identify other persons to whom he distributed the exam paper.
Advocate AP Singh appeared for Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal. Advocates Kapil Yadav and Ambika appeared for accused Yash Yadav, while Advocate Vikram appeared for Dhananjay Lokhande.
The CBI also moved an application seeking specimen signatures of accused Manisha Mandhare. The defence counsel filed an application seeking preservation of CCTV footage. Both applications are yet to be heard.
Earlier, while seeking remand, the CBI had submitted that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to investigate the larger conspiracy behind the paper leak and probe the involvement of public servants, as the NEET examination was conducted by the NTA.
The agency said the accused were arrested from different locations, including Jaipur in Rajasthan and Nashik in Maharashtra.
According to the CBI, Mangilal Biwal contacted Shubham Khairnar to obtain the NEET question paper for Vikas Biwal. The agency alleged that leaked question papers were recovered from Mangilal Biwal's mobile phone.
The CBI further alleged that Mangilal received the leaked NEET-UG paper from Yash Yadav for Rs 10 lakh. During interrogation, Vikas Biwal allegedly stated that he came in contact with Yash Yadav during coaching classes. Dinesh Biwal, another accused, is allegedly Vikas Biwal's cousin.
The agency also alleged that Shubham first leaked the paper to Yash Yadav, who then passed it on to Mangilal Biwal, followed by Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal.
It was further alleged that Mangilal Biwal sold the leaked paper to several candidates for Rs 12 lakh.
In the case, four other accused, Manisha Waghmare, chemistry expert Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni, and teacher Manish Mandhare, have also been arrested by the CBI and remain in its custody.
