The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the NEET-UG question paper leak case, will soon seek custody of the 18 accused for interrogation; The Hindu has reported.

At present, all the accused – 13 from Bihar’s Patna and five from Jharkhand – are in judicial custody. They were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOU), which was earlier investigating the case before it was handed over to the CBI.

On the second consecutive day on Tuesday, the four-member CBI team held another round of meeting with the EOU officials in Patna to gather more information on the case. The CBI team held meetings with EOU Additional Director General Nayyar Hasnain Khan and Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra.

As per the report, the investigation report submitted by the EOU to the CBI includes details of the accused, the method of paper leak, money transactions, and past records of the accused.

The evidence collected by the EOU so far includes pieces of a partially burnt question paper recovered from a play school, mobile phones of the arrested people, SIM cards, laptops, and post-dated cheques. The CBI will also investigate money transactions, including the commission given to middlemen, in the case, The Hindu reported citing its sources.

Meanwhile, the Patna Civil Court on Tuesday asked the accused to seek bail from the Special CBI Court as the case is now being investigated by the central probing agency. An anticipatory bail plea was also filed by one of the key accused, Sanjiv Mukhiya, who is absconding.