NEET paper leak: Delhi court extends judicial custody of two accused till July 11

A Delhi court on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of two accused, including the alleged kingpin and a coaching centre founder, till July 11 in the NEET paper leak case.

The alleged kingpin P V Kulkarni, and Renukai Career Centre (RCC) founder Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar were produced physically before Special Judge Ajay Gupa in the afternoon.

The CBI sought their judicial custody extension till June 11, which Judge Gupta allowed.

Kulkarni, a native of Latur, Maharashtra and a domain expert in chemistry, was part of the panel that set the NEET question paper for years. He was arrested last month in Pune in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak and later remanded in judicial custody.

Motegaonkar was arrested in May in Latur, and during searches, the agency claimed a leaked question paper from the examination held on May 3 was recovered from his personal mobile phone.

The CBI alleged that he was an active member of the organised gang involved in the leak and circulation of the NEET-UG paper, and “played a key role in circulating the question paper and answers through his coaching centre”.

The agency has arrested 13 accused persons in the case, all of whom are in judicial custody.

On May 12, the National Testing Agency cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak.

A re-exam was then held on June 21.