ED raids rock Bihar and Jharkhand in 2024 NEET-UG paper leak money-laundering probe

Sleuths target mastermind Sanjeev Mukhiya’s network; cash trail from Hazaribagh exam centre to Patna hostel under intense ED, CBI scrutiny.

Ranchi/Patna: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday swooped down on several premises in Ranchi, Patna and Nalanda, widening its money-laundering investigation into last year’s NEET-UG question-paper leak allegedly masterminded by Bihar resident Sanjeev Mukhiya.

The agency searched homes and offices linked to Mukhiya’s close aide Sikandar Prasad Yadavendra in Ranchi’s Bariatu locality and those of Yadavendra’s son, Dr Shiv in Patna. Parallel raids were also carried out in Nalanda.

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The ED opened its case after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) handed over evidence of hefty cash transactions unearthed while probing the May 2024 leak. Mukhiya, arrested in late April, remains in judicial custody.

Earlier, the CBI had jailed Oasis School principal-cum-NTA city coordinator Ehsan Ul Haq, vice-principal Mohammad Imtiaz, journalist Jamaluddin, and guest-house operator Rajkumar alias Raju all from Hazaribagh. Investigators say the paper was lifted from Oasis School’s exam centre, ferried overnight to Patna, and shown to select aspirants inside a hostel where they were tutored with “model answers” for large sums.

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) in Patna first registered the criminal case before it was transferred to the CBI, which, in turn, triggered the current ED money-laundering probe via an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

With Thursday’s raids, the ED aims to map the full financial network family members, shell firms and cash couriers, that allegedly converted the leaked-paper fees into clean assets. More searches and summonses are expected in the coming days as the agency scrutinises banking records, real-estate deals and digital payments tied to Mukhiya’s circle.