Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested one more accused from Bhubaneswar in connection with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 paper leak case, officials said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Sushant Samantha (34). He was arrested from Bhubaneswar in Odisha on Saturday for his alleged involvement in the circulation of the NEET-UG question paper.

Following his arrest, the accused was taken to Patna on Sunday and produced in the CBI Exclusive Magistrate Court on Monday. He was taken on a 5-day remand by the CBI for interrogation.

Reports said that the accused was involved in the circulation of the question paper among the examination mafia after Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a 2027-batch civil engineering student from the National Institute of Technology-Jamshedpur allegedly stole it from the NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.

So far, the CBI has taken 5 accused persons into custody for interrogation in the NEET-UG paper leak case. The agency used AI and advanced forensic techniques to gather evidence for investigation in the case.

The CBI has filed a chargesheet in the NEET-UG paper leak case naming 13 accused persons. The case was first reported from Patna on the day of examination on May 5. Following massive protests by students, the Union Education Ministry handed over the case to the CBI for investigation.