How Don got, sold CBSE pre-medical papers last year

The CBSE knew that Ranjit Don had the keys to at least some lockers of its pre-medical question papers. And that the kingpin of the CAT scam...

The CBSE knew that Ranjit Don had the keys to at least some lockers of its pre-medical question papers. And that the kingpin of the CAT scam had leaked the 2003 CBSE pre-medical papers and, in a massive nationwide operation, sold it to hundreds of aspirants.

The CBI, in a chargesheet filed last month on the 2003 CBSE pre-medical examination leak, details how Ranjit Don, who is incarcerated in Beur Jail in Patna, and his gang members Arun Kumar Sinha, Manoj and Ajit — all of whom are also accused in the CAT case — extracted the paper and sent it across to cities around the country. The case was cracked by the CBI DIG, Patna branch.

The 2003 CBSE pre-medical examination papers were printed at a Jaipur press and sent to Canara Bank branches all over the country. In 2003, the papers were sent 15 days before the examination on April 27. Ranjit Don, through his vast network, indentified a manager who was allegedly willing to get the paper out for a sum of money, in the Canara Bank branch in Bokaro’s Naya Mod.

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Manager (administration) Ajay Singh, who is also chargesheeted in the case, sneaked the paper out of the bank. The paper was first brought to Patna and from there it was first faxed to Mumbai. Just as in the CAT case, Ranjit don booked 29 rooms in Ramee Guestline Hotel and rented a flat in Mumbai. According to the chargesheet, the question paper was given to students on Saturday evening, 26 April 2003, a day before the examination. The students were kept overnight at the hotel and the flat, cut off from any outside contact. The CBI estimated that over 200 students were in the rooms.

The CBI believes the CBSE pre-medical was the main source of income for the gang. Each paper was allegedly sold for Rs 8 lakh to 10 lakh. After Mumbai, the paper was leaked to Arun Kumar Sinha, Ranjit Don’s close associate, in Nagpur. Sinha, according to the chargesheet, rented rooms in Yatri Niwas and Guru Kripa in Nagpur. The paper was then faxed to Rajeev Babu, another accused, in Delhi, Ranchi and then Kolkata. In Kolkata, a hall was rented for the operation. Investigations are still on about the Delhi operation.

The chargesheet was filed within 90 days of the FIR being lodged in the CBI special judge court in Patna. And shortly afterwards the bail pleas of Ranjit Don and other accused were rejected by the special court and then the Patna High Court.

A separate FIR was also lodged against 11 students from Bihar and Jharkhand who bought the papers. Investigations revealed that accused Laxmikant Tomar, who made it to the top 100, is the brother-in-law of Arun Kumar Sinha. Ashutosh Kumar and Nilanjan Kumar, the cousin and brother-in-law of Ranjit don, got into Patna Medical College and Gaya Medical Collge. Four others got admission into Maulana Azad Medical College and one into University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

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Even though the CBI has filed a chargesheet, the CBSE is yet to take any action.

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