NEET-UG 2024 scam: Mastermind Sanjeev Mukhiya arrested after 11-month manhunt

In a dramatic midnight raid on Friday, a months-long search for 51-year-old Sanjeev Mukhiya — a Nalanda native with a ₹3 lakh bounty on his head — came to an end.

A joint team from Bihar’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) and Patna’s Special Task Force stormed an apartment near Saguna More in Patna’s Danapur, finally nabbing the man accused of orchestrating multiple exam paper leaks across states.

Mukhiya, allegedly the mastermind behind the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak, had been evading arrest for nearly 11 months.

"He was constantly on the move, slipping between states and borders, from Uttar Pradesh to Nepal," said Nayyar Husnain Khan, Additional Director General of the EOU.

"Several police units were tracking him for a long time," he added. “Yesterday (Thursday), inputs placed him near Saguna More and Danapur police station.”

After receiving a crucial tip-off, sleuths zeroed in on his location. "After verifying his presence in a specific building, we coordinated with Patna’s Senior Superintendent of Police, and with Danapur police’s support, Sanjeev Mukhiya was arrested during a raid between 1 and 1.30 am," Khan said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Mukhiya had been "visiting a woman renter" at the apartment. "We’re investigating her identity, connection, and any case involvement," the ADG noted. Mukhiya was interrogated by both the EOU and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later that day.

A technical assistant at Udyan Vidyalaya in Nalanda’s Noorsarai, Mukhiya is believed to have built a highly "organised and professional" interstate solver network.

"He exploited every layer of the examination system," Khan said, explaining how Mukhiya allegedly identified desperate parents willing to pay between ₹8 to ₹15 lakh — sometimes even more — to secure a seat for their children.

Mukhiya reportedly leveraged vulnerabilities at every stage — from printing presses to transport to exam centres.

"In Hazaribagh, he arranged for question paper photos to be extracted with coordination from insiders," Khan disclosed.

The gang’s operations were ruthless and calculated. "He summoned candidates to guest houses, locked them in overnight, and told them to memorise answers," Khan said. "No physical copies were given to avoid traces." Candidates were then dropped at centres with the answers committed to memory.

The scam surfaced on May 5, 2024, during NEET-UG exams when Patna police noticed anomalies. By June 23, the CBI took over the investigation, naming Mukhiya as the “kingpin.”

The CBI’s FIR implicated eight accused, including Mukhiya, middlemen Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand from Munger, and junior engineer Sikandar Yadavendu.

The operation wasn’t limited to NEET. Officials allege Mukhiya’s network spanned multiple exams — including Bihar’s Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE-3), the Uttar Pradesh Constable Recruitment Exam, and recruitment drives for veterinary doctors and English teachers in Haryana.

Mukhiya is no stranger to controversy. His criminal history dates back to 2010 when he was accused of helping candidates cheat using Bluetooth devices.

In 2016, he was arrested by Uttarakhand Police for a constable exam leak and detained again in Bihar for manipulating a block-level exam for SC/ST candidates.

"Despite jail time, he resumed his illicit trade. He found loopholes in the system and figured out how to exploit them," Khan remarked.

Authorities previously arrested five of Mukhiya’s alleged associates — Paramjit Singh, Baldev Kumar, Prashant Kumar, Ajit Kumar, and Rajiv Kumar — in Deoghar, Jharkhand, on June 21, 2024. Baldev was found to have received a PDF copy of the leaked NEET-UG paper.

In Patna, police rounded up 13 others linked to the racket, including students, parents, and intermediaries.

Investigators say Mukhiya’s network operated across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and beyond.

He allegedly paid his gang members monthly salaries and even provided them with two-wheelers.

On October 23, 2024, authorities filed a disproportionate assets case against him after raids on four of his properties uncovered real estate papers, luxury vehicles, hefty bank deposits, and gold and silver jewellery — assets far exceeding his earnings as a technical assistant.

Mukhiya’s underworld roots trace back to the 1990s when he worked under Ranjeet Don, a notorious figure involved in leaking examination papers in Nalanda. Don, who once allegedly "purchased" an MBBS degree and was arrested in 2003 for leaking CAT papers, became Mukhiya’s mentor.

The criminal legacy continues within the family. His son, Dr Shiv Kumar, a Patna Medical College and Hospital graduate, was arrested in 2024 for his role in the TRE-3 scam.

His wife, Mamata Devi, a former mukhiya of Bhutaha Khar Panchayat and a past JD(U) member, contested the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections on an LJP ticket but was defeated. Her political background earned Sanjeev his infamous moniker: ‘Mukhiya.’