PATNA/NEW DELHI, Aug. 3 -- A key accused in the NEET question paper leak case has secured bail after the Central Bureau of Investigation failed to file a chargesheet within the mandatory 90-day period, officials aware of the matter said. Sanjeev Singh alias Lutan Mukhia was granted bail by a special CBI court on Friday, though he remains in custody due to five separate cases, including three investigated by Bihar police's Economic Offences Unit (EoU). Justice Sunil Kumar of the special CBI court accepted arguments from Mukhia's counsel that the investigating agency had failed to meet the statutory deadline for filing charges in the case that sparked nationwide controversy in 2024. CBI officials in New Delhi, however, disputed characterisations of the development as a failure, claiming Mukhia was "never wanted" in their investigation. "Did we ever say he is the mastermind in our case? Did we ever mention his name in previous chargesheets or statements?" said a senior CBI officer who requested anonymity. "Mukhiya was arrested by Bihar police and was their accused in other exam papers' leaks." The officer said the CBI's brief custody of Mukhia in April was merely "to rule out any possibility of his involvement" in the NEET-2024 paper leak from Oasis School in Hazaribagh. The federal agency has filed five chargesheets naming 45 people in the NEET 2024 investigation, including key accused Baldev Kumar and Aman Singh. It has shared details of beneficiaries and medical students who acted as "solvers" with the National Testing Agency and the education ministry. The CBI also found no involvement of NTA officials in the paper leak. The agency did not respond to requests for a comment. The Bihar police did not respond to requests for a comment. CBI additional director A V Krishna, who oversees the NEET leak investigation, did not respond to requests for comment about the chargesheet delay or the agency's next steps regarding Singh. An official in the Bihar EOU said on condition of anonymity that the bail was in a case being tried in the special CBI court, which hears cases only filed by the federal probe agency. The NEET-2024 leak was exposed when Bihar police recovered a half-burnt question paper from a private school hostel on Patna's outskirts on May 5, 2024, hours after the examination began. The test was conducted at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 locations abroad. Results announced on June 4 triggered widespread protests when 67 candidates achieved perfect scores of 720 marks, with several from the same examination centre. The Supreme Court criticised the NTA in August 2024, noting that papers were leaked in Patna and Hazaribagh and that "unauthorised persons were permitted to access the question papers." Bihar police Additional Director General Nayyar Husnain Khan appeared before the Supreme Court bench alongside CBI officials during the proceedings....