The Hindu : New Delhi News : Evidence destroyed in hostel rooms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Evidence destroyed in hostel rooms

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, APRIL 13. The Delhi police Crime Branch team which had gone to conduct raids in the Nagpur Medical College hostel rooms of two of the accused in the All-India Pre-Medical Test paper leak case today discovered that their belongings had already been removed and all evidence destroyed.

According to sources here, the police team reached Nagpur this morning and after obtaining necessary permission entered the hotel rooms of Vikas Verma, who has been arrested, and the prime accused, Ranjit Verma, who is still at large. As the Crime Branch sleuths entered the rooms, they were taken aback to see that the premises had been ransacked and the belongings of Ranjit and Vikas were missing. They noticed that some papers had been burnt in one of the rooms.

Enquiries from neighbours revealed that after the police arrested Vikas and Rakesh from their New Ashok Nagar flat in East Delhi this past Saturday, Ranjit flew straight to Nagpur the next morning. He then collected his and Vikas' belongings from the hostel rooms and vanished from the scene. Before leaving, he allegedly burnt certain papers that could have been used against him as material evidence.

While the police team is investigating other aspects of the case in Nagpur, another team has been sent to Jaipur to investigate the advertisements through which the accused had tried to lure prospective clients.

Meanwhile, investigations so far have revealed that even though Ranjit Verma and the other accused had been indulging in the "business" to make quick money, they were also facilitating the admissions of their relatives in medical colleges by passing on the papers to them.

During interrogation, the two accused, Vikas Verma and Rakesh Verma, disclosed that Ranjit's brother, Satinder, had this year applied for the PMT entrance and had also joined one Akash coaching institute for preparations. Apart from him, it is learnt that Ranjit's cousin, Rakesh, was also trying to get his brother and a sister admitted to a medical college.

Similarly, the alleged brain behind the Common Admission Test (CAT) paper leak last year, Ranjit Singh Don, had also been facilitating the admissions of his relatives and acquaintances in medical and management institutions.

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