New Delhi, 24 July (H.S.):

The Rouse Avenue Court has dismissed the bail plea of Dr Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure, an accused in the NEET paper leak case. Special Judge Ajay Gupta passed the order rejecting Shirure’s bail application.

During the hearing on the bail plea, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the bail application, stating that the NEET paper leak offence was a crime against the nation. While opposing Shirure’s plea, the CBI argued that the incident had damaged the country’s reputation and affected the future of lakhs of students.

CBI counsel Neetu Singh submitted that the examination had to be cancelled due to the paper leak, causing severe hardship to several students. She further stated that the incident resulted in a financial loss of around Rs 600 crore to the government. The CBI also claimed that following the paper leak controversy, some students had even died by suicide.

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for Shirure argued that the allegations against the petitioner were based only on the disclosure statement of co-accused Prahlad Kulkarni. The lawyer contended that his role could not be established solely on the basis of such a statement. The counsel further submitted that there was no concrete evidence against Shirure and that there was no possibility of him absconding.

A total of 13 accused persons have so far been arrested in connection with the NEET paper leak case. All the accused are currently in judicial custody.

An FIR in the matter was registered on May 12 following a complaint by a government official. The CBI registered the case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The NEET examination, conducted on May 3, was cancelled after allegations of question paper leakage surfaced. A re-examination was later conducted on June 21. The Central government had ordered a CBI probe into the matter.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar