CBI action in NEET-UG paper leak case, private school owner arrested from Godhra

Dixit Patel, owner of Jai Jalaram School, has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing a case of alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Graduation (NEET-UG) in Parvadi village of Godhra, Gujarat.

The CBI had approached the Panchmahal district court seeking Patel's remand in the case on Sunday. However, the court rejected the plea saying that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the special CBI court, following which the CBI approached the special CBI court in Ahmedabad.

Four days remand granted

CBI arrested Dixit Patel late on Saturday night. Hours earlier, the Panchmahal district court had granted four-day remand to the four accused – Tushar Bhatt, Purushottam Sharma, Vibhor Anand and Arif Vora – who were earlier arrested by the Godhra taluka police in an FIR registered on May 8 by the Panchmahal District Correctional Officer.

School teacher arrested from Godhra

The CBI recorded the statement of Jai Jalaram School chairman Patel on June 27, when he visited two centers run by the same trust in Godhra's Parvadi and Kheda districts. Panchmahal officials said the CBI arrested Patel late on Saturday night and completed the formalities of a medical examination at the Godhra Civil Hospital.

In the remand application, the CBI has said that Patel is "suspected to be in touch with the accused, who are already in the case and were aware of the irregularities". Patel is the sixth accused to be caught in the NEET-UG irregularities at the Godhra Centre.

CBI monitors private schools

The CBI did not seek custody of the fifth arrested accused – Parashuram Roy, an immigration agent and owner of Roy Overseas. On Thursday, the CBI recorded the statements of at least six local students from Gujarat.

who approached the accused regarding the alleged malpractices in the NEET examination at the Centre. The CBI also recorded the statements of school owner Dixit Patel and other employees of the school in Godhra and another school in Padal in Kheda district. On Wednesday May 5, a special CBI team visited two private schools as part of its probe into alleged NEET-UG malpractices.