The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet against a Pune tea-stall owner accused of offering a leaked NEET-UG question paper to students and keeping 10 candidates at a house in Nashik before the examination, according to a report by Lokmat – Pune.
The accused, identified as Sheshrao Bajrang Suryawanshi, ran the Malak Chaha stall outside a coaching centre in Pune and is described in the report as the 14th accused in the paper-leak racket. The CBI arrested him on 2 September, and the chargesheet has now detailed how investigators allege he approached students preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.
According to the CBI investigation cited by Lokmat, two students were discussing their concerns about the NEET examination at the tea stall in April when Suryawanshi allegedly told them that a doctor known to him could arrange the question paper. He reportedly demanded Rs 4.5 lakh from the students in exchange for the paper.
After the transaction was allegedly agreed, Suryawanshi took the two students on 28 April to a house in Panchak village in Nashik district. Eight other students were already present there, bringing the total number of candidates at the house to 10, the report said.
The CBI alleges that Suryawanshi collected the students’ Class 10 and Class 12 certificates and other important documents to secure payment. The candidates were allegedly given access to the question paper three to four days before the examination so that they could study it. They were then instructed to return the paper before leaving for their examination centre on 2 May.
One student, however, allegedly scanned the entire paper on a mobile phone without informing the others. The CBI reportedly found a photograph of a photocopy of the question paper in the hands of a female student on Suryawanshi’s mobile phone. The image was dated 30 April, according to the report.
The investigation also records an alleged payment linked to the demand for money. After the examination, Suryawanshi allegedly pressed the students for payment. The mother of one candidate reportedly pledged 35.8 grams of gold jewellery and paid Rs 3 lakh to Suryawanshi at the tea stall. Another student allegedly did not make the payment and continued to delay the demand, Lokmat reported.
The case places a small commercial premises outside a coaching centre at the centre of a wider examination-integrity investigation. It also shows how, according to the allegations in the chargesheet, candidates’ educational certificates and personal documents were used as leverage in a suspected paper-leak arrangement.
The CBI’s chargesheet and the material cited in the report concern allegations against Suryawanshi. The supplied report does not state the next court hearing or provide details of any judicial finding on the charges. The legal process will determine the allegations against the accused.
