Patna/New Delhi, November 22 (IANS): As part of the ongoing probe into the NEET-UG 2024 question paper leak issue, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed a fifth chargesheet against five accused in a special court in Patna.

The chargesheet has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), 109 (Abetment), 409 (Criminal Breach of Trust), 420 (Cheating), 380 (Theft), 201 (Offense). Disappearance of evidence) and 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) and under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).

The five persons named in the charge sheet are Amit Kumar Singh, a resident of Dhanbad; Sudip Kumar, resident of Bokaro, Yuvraj Kumar, resident of Bokaro, Abhimanyu Patel, resident of Nalanda, and Amit Kumar, resident of Patna.

With this, the total number of accused accused in this case is 45, and all are still in custody, the CBI said in a statement on Friday.

The investigative authority had previously filed four indictments on August 1, 2024, September 19, October 5 and November 11 against 40 other accused.

The CBI took over the investigation of the case from Shastri Nagar Police Station, Patna on 23 June 2024.

The names of the candidates, who are the beneficiaries of the paper theft/improper funds and the names of the MBBS student who had solved the stolen paper or who had appeared in the exam as impersonators have already been identified and shared with the National Testing Agency (NTA) / Department of Education.

The CBI probe into the alleged NEET-UG 2024 question paper leak revealed that individuals colluded with exam officials and that the question paper was illegally available before the exam, leading to suspicions of unfair advantage to some candidates.

Despite these findings, the Supreme Court ultimately decided not to cancel the exam, citing insufficient evidence of widespread malpractice and the potential negative impact on over 24 lakh students who took part.