JEE main 2021 leak case: Delhi Court sends Russian national to 2-day CBI custody

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Tuesday (October 4) sent a Russian national to CBI custody for two days. He was arrested on Monday on his arrival from Kazakhstan based on a Lookout Circular (LOC) issued by CBI in the software tampering case of JEE Mains-2021. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) while deciding to send him into remand, also noted that he is the 24th arrested in the present case. Court noted that the agency needs custodial interrogation to examine his electronic devices including his laptop and mobiles.

Advocate Sriram Parakkat appeared for the Russian national and opposed the remand application moved by the CBI. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested a foreign national and mastermind of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021 paper leak case. He was the main hacker in the case, said the CBI.

JEE Main Paper Leak- Mastermind

"He was the mastermind in the case who has hacked the software of examination. We are questioning him to ascertain the role of the other people involved in the case and identifying the people who were giving instructions to him," said a senior CBI official.

On Monday the accused was detained by the Bureau of Immigration at IGI Airport, Delhi while arriving in India from Almaty, Kazakhstan. A Look Out Circular was opened against him. According to the CBI, during the investigation, it came to light that some foreign nationals were involved in compromising many online examinations including JEE (Mains) colluding with other accused in the instant case.

The role of one Russian National was revealed who had allegedly tampered with the Leon software (the platform on which the JEE (Main)-2021 examination was conducted) and that he helped other accused in hacking the computer systems of suspect candidates during the examination. Therefore, a Look Out Circular was opened against the said Russian National.

On September 2021, CBI registered a case against a private company and others including its Directors and three employees, private persons(conduits) etc on the allegations of irregularities being committed in the ongoing JEE (Mains) Exams 2021 by a private educational institution, its directors, their touts/associates and staff posted at the examination centre and other unknown persons.

It was further alleged that the said company and its Directors were manipulating the online examination of JEE (Mains) and facilitating aspiring students to get admission to top NITs in consideration of huge amount by solving the question paper of the applicant through remote access from a chosen examination centre in Sonepat (Haryana).

It was also alleged that the accused used to obtain Xth and XIIth mark sheets, the User IDs, Passwords, and post-dated cheques of aspiring students in different parts of the country as security and once admission was done, they used to collect heavy amounts ranging from 12-15 Lakh (approx) per candidate.

Searches were conducted in Delhi and NCR, Pune, Jamshedpur, Indore and Bangalore which led to the recovery of 25 Laptops, seven PCs, around 30 post-dated cheques along with voluminous incriminating documents/ devices including PDC`s mark sheet of different students.