The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested two persons from Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh in connection with allegations of paper leaks in the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test for admissions to undergraduate medical courses, reported The Indian Express.

Those arrested are the principal of Oasis School Ehsanul Haque and vice principal Imtiaz Alam. Haque was also the Hazaribagh district coordinator for the NEET-UG exam.

It is unclear what the two men were arrested for. According to The Indian Express, the paper leak may have originated from the Hazaribagh school.

The arrests in Jharkhand came a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested two men, Manish Prakash and Ashutosh Kumar, from Bihar’s Patna in connection with the same case.

Prakash had allegedly arranged a vacant school where around 25 candidates received and memorised the test’s leaked papers, The New Indian Express reported, quoting unidentified officials.

Kumar allegedly provided lodging for the students at his home, the newspaper reported.

The Union Ministry of Education handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation on June 22. In its complaint to the agency, the department of higher education under the ministry alleged that “certain isolated incidents occurred in a few states” during the NEET-UG examination on May 5.

“Special teams have been formed by the CBI to investigate the matter on top priority,” the agency said in a press release. “Special CBI teams are being sent to Patna and Godhra [in Gujarat] where local police cases have been registered.”

On June 22, the Centre also set up a high-level expert committee “to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency”.

The committee has been tasked with recommending reforms in examination processes, improving data security protocols and reviewing the structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET-UG exam and other competitive entrance tests.

On Friday, the education ministry announced that the committee is seeking suggestions from students and parents to reform the National Testing Agency.

“The committee is seeking suggestions, views, and ideas from stakeholders, particularly students and parents, from June 27 to July 7, 2024,” the ministry said in a statement.

The results of the NEET-UG examination were announced on June 4. Subsequently, several aspirants alleged that an inflation of marks had led to 67 candidates securing the top rank, including six from the same examination centre.

Also read: How a messaging app that helps students prepare for exams enabled paper leaks