Farmer’s son, ‘influential’ junior engineer, accused in 2016 ‘scam’ – who is Sikander Yadvendu, key accused in NEET case

Coming from a farmer’s family and working as a small-time contractor until 2012, Sikander P Yadavendu (56) had largely flown under the radar. That was until his name emerged in connection with the alleged NEET-UG paper leak in Bihar.

Today, Yadavendu is, according to state police officers, a key accused in the case. He was arrested on May 5, hours after the exam was held, alongside 12 others, including four aspirants who took the paper.

Yadavendu, who lives in a rented flat in an apartment complex in Rupaspur area of Patna’s Danapur, has a diploma in engineering and worked as a contractor for a decade and a half.

His father was a farmer, and the family owns eight bighas of agricultural land in Samastipur. After clearing class 10 in the 1980s, he moved to Ranchi, where he studied until class 12, and got a diploma.

In 2012, when the NDA was in power in Bihar, he landed a job as a junior engineer with the water resources department. In 2016, Yadavendu was named in connection with a Rs 2.92 crore LED scam in the Rohtas Municipal Council, which he held additional charge of. The charges included buying LEDs at inflated rates to be installed in Dalmianagar. He was arrested and later released on bail.

In 2021, he is said to have used his connections to get transferred to the urban development and housing  department, with a posting in the Danapur Municipal Council. Sources said he wielded influence there, and would clear the layouts of upcoming apartments in the area.

“In 2023, he had a falling out with some seniors and was transferred to the water resources department, but he managed to get the transfer order reversed,” said a source in the Danapur Municipal Council.

The ruling BJP has alleged that Yadavendu was closely associated