New Delhi, Jul 24 : A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of a doctor who is an accused in the NEET paper leak case.
Special Judge Ajay Gupta rejected the bail plea of the accused paediatrician Dr Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure.
A detailed order is awaited.
The court also extended the judicial custody of all 13 accused till August 6.
During the arguments on bail, the CBI had claimed that the Latur-based doctor took Rs 5 lakh from a candidate’s family and allowed the candidate to access the leaked chemistry paper at his hospital before the examination.
The federal agency had also told the court that Shirure had referred two other doctors to the alleged kingpin P V Kulkarni, and the children of these doctors also allegedly benefited from the paper “leak”.
It had alleged that the accused doctor facilitated co-accused Shivraj Motegaonkar’s son, Aditya Motegaonkar, to access the leaked chemistry paper at his hospital in the third week of April, ahead of the May 3 NEET-UG examination.
The CBI had claimed that Rs 5 lakh received from the candidate’s family was seized from the house of Shirure’s sister and further alleged that he had referred two other doctors to Kulkarni and the children of these doctors obtained the leaked chemistry paper after paying Rs 3 lakh each.
Vehemently opposing the bail plea, it had said the investigation is at a crucial stage involving the analysis of digital evidence, financial transactions, call records and the larger conspiracy, and that the release of the accused could prejudice the probe and the trial.
“The plea of absence of criminal antecedents is not decisive in the facts of the present case for bail. Even a first-time accused may be denied bail where the offence alleged is grave, socially harmful and supported by prima-facie material indicating conscious participation,” the agency had said.
On May 12, the National Testing Agency cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak.
A re-exam was then held on June 21.
