The CBI has taken over the investigation of five new cases of alleged malpractices in NEET-UG that were being probed by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.
The central agency re-registered one case each from Gujarat and Bihar and three cases from Rajasthan as its own FIR and is likely to take up another case from Maharashtra’s Latur. With the new cases, the CBI is now probing a total of six cases pertaining to alleged irregularities in NEET-UG.
While the Enforcement Directorate is yet to open any investigation into NEET-UG, it has initiated at least eight cases in connection with other paper leaks and OMR sheet manipulation in three states — West Bengal, Rajasthan and Jharkhand — to investigate the money laundering aspect.
Here’s a look at the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and cheating cases reported from across states so far and how investigation into them is proceeding.
THE ‘UNCLE’ IN BIHAR
The most shocking details of NEET-UG 2024 paper leak have emerged from Bihar where the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the police arrested a total of 18 people, including prime suspect Sikandar Yadavendu, his associates, a few aspirants and their parents.
Who are the Main Suspects?
The most startling confessions have come from four accused – Sikandar Yadavendu, his nephew Anurag Yadav, and middlemen Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand – whose purported statements to the police detail how four candidates were made to memorise the question paper and answers on the eve of the May 5 examination for a price of Rs 40 lakh per candidate.
But who is the brain behind the question paper of the medical entrance exam in Bihar in the first place? Sources in Bihar Police told News18 that questioning of those arrested so far yielded the name of one Sanjeev ‘Mukhiya’, the alleged mastermind of the racket who remains at large.
His actual name is said to be Sanjeev Singh and his wife Mamta Devi was elected the ‘mukhiya’ or chief of the Bhuthakhar Panchayat, following which even Sanjeev came to be addressed as ‘mukhiya’. Sanjeev’s son, a doctor by profession, is also said to be currently in jail for alleged involvement in a Bihar teacher recruitment exam paper leak case. Together, the father-son duo is allegedly part of the ‘Mukhiya Solver Gang’, a notorious group believed to be involved in exam frauds.
Sanjeev ‘Mukhiya’, a resident of Nagarsauna in Nalanda district of Bihar, is a technical assistant at Nalanda College’s Noorsarai branch. Formerly employed at Sabour Agricultural College, he was transferred to Noorsarai after being implicated in similar paper leak scandal, leading to his arrest by Uttarakhand Police in 2016. He has not been seen since May 6, 2024 and has applied for anticipatory bail through his lawyer in Patna Sadar’s ACGM 9 Court.
Those in custody in Bihar include the following:
- Students: Ayush Kumar (19), a resident of Danapur; Abhishek Kumar (21) from Ranchi; Anurag Yadav (22) from Samastipur; and Shivnandan Kumar from Gaya
- Parents: Anurag’s mother Rina Kumari; Ayush’s father Akhilesh Kumar; Abhishek’s father Awadhesh Kumar
- Middlemen: Junior engineer Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, resident of Samastipur and Anurag Yadav’s uncle; his driver Bittu Kumar from Rohtas; and Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand from Munger
- Associates: Raushan Kumar (Nalanda) and Ashutosh Kumar (Jamui), associates of Amit Anand
How They Cheated
Police officials who are part of the investigation told News18 that the gang charged Rs 30 to Rs 50 lakh from the aspirants and used to accommodate them in small lodges in Patna where the students were provided the question papers to be memorised.
Middleman Amit Anand reportedly told the police during interrogation that he and his associates used to provide aspirants with the leaked question paper and answers on the eve of the exam. The aspirants were made to memorise the questions and solutions overnight.
In his confession statement to police, Anand allegedly admitted that his gang used to charge up to Rs 32 lakh per aspirant. Anand’s statement was corroborated by the purported confession statement of Ayush Kumar, who appeared for the NEET-UG exam at DAV School and was later detained from the centre.
In his confession statement, Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, a junior engineer at Danapur Town Council, reportedly confessed to introducing four aspirants, including his nephew Anurag Yadav, to the middlemen. He also allegedly confessed to charging the boys Rs 40 lakh per person, intending to pocket the difference.
How Were They Caught?
Bihar Police officials say it all began with a phone call on May 5, the day the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) was held. The call had come from a Jharkhand-based central agency which alerted the Bihar Police to a gang involved in leaking the NEET-UG 2024 question paper. The inputs contained the details of the car being used by the accused.
“We acted swiftly and tracked the car. We found the alleged members of the organized gang allegedly involved in the NEET-UG exam leak,” said a senior official with the Bihar Police. The discovery turned out to be the tip of the iceberg as all other arrests followed this one.
Status of the Investigation
With the investigation being handed over to the CBI, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police gave all material evidence related to the NEET-UG paper leak case to the federal agency.
The CBI sleuths, who discussed the case with EOU officials after formally taking over the probe, also met officials of Shastri Nagar Police station, where the first case had been lodged on May 5 after the arrest of a number of persons in connection with the paper leak case.
The matter was first investigated by Shastri Nagar Police before it was handed over to the EOU and now goes to the CBI.
THE HEADMASTER IN MAHARASHTRA
The tentacles of the NEET-UG paper leak scam reached Maharashtra this week, with the Anti-Terrorism Squad arresting a Zilla Parishad school headmaster from Latur and detaining a teacher after it emerged that at least four persons operated a racket to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the exam.
The Main Suspects
Police arrested Jalil Khan Umar Khan Pathan, the headmaster of a Zilla Parishad school late on Sunday night, and detained another Zilla Parishad school teacher, Sanjay Jadhav, on Monday for questioning. According to police, both teachers also run a private coaching centre.
How Were They Cheating?
Prima facie, Kongalwar used to act as a mediator who would collect admit cards of NEET aspirants from two teachers — Pathan and Jadhav.
“After cards are collected, an advance payment of Rs 50,000 used to be made to Gangadhar and the admit cards would be sent to him. The deal would be typically finalised at Rs 5 lakh (per student for facilitating paper leak),” an official privy to the investigation said.
Konagalwar, posted at an ITI in Umarga in the Dharashiv district in Marathwada region, was in contact with Gangadhar.
How They Were Caught
“ATS officials had received a tip-off that some suspects were running an illegal racket to help NEET students pass the exam in exchange for money,” stated a release issued by the office of the Latur district superintendent of police.
Subsequently, the ATS detained Jadhav and Pathan from Latur on Saturday night for questioning.
According to police, suspicious information regarding the NEET 2024 exam was found in the mobile phone of one of the detained persons. The investigation so far revealed the references to monetary transactions made by one of the accused Kongalwar with Delhi resident Gangadhar, an official said.
An FIR has been registered against Jadhav, Pathan, Iranna Mashnaji Kongalwar from Nanded and one Gangadhar, a resident of Delhi under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. Pathan was on Monday remanded in police custody till July 2 by a local court.
Status of the Investigation
Officials say police teams have been fanned out to trace Kongalwar. Meanwhile, Pathan’s cupboard at Katpur where he was posted as the headmaster has been sealed and his duties have been assigned to another teacher.
The investigation showed that Pathan has been absent from school since June 20 but he signed the duty muster on June 20 and 21. The block education officer has submitted a report to senior authorities, officials said, adding that a proposal to suspend Pathan will be moved.
According to police, Kongalwar used to travel to the ITI in Umarga from Latur. He had applied for leave on Monday and Tuesday.
The ATS action came into the picture after the Centre handed over the probe into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam to the CBI, giving in to demands of students protesting across the country for an investigation into the matter.
The CBI subsequently filed an FIR into the alleged irregularities in the exam conducted on May 5.
PROXIES FROM RAJASTHAN
Two instances of proxy candidates being used to write the NEET-UG exam came to light in Rajasthan. While in one instance, the proxy candidate appeared for the exam in the state itself, in another case the accused appeared for the exam in Navi Mumbai. Both cases came to light on May 6, a day after the NEET-UG exam.
Who are the Accused?
In the first instance, Rajasthan Police arrested an MBBS student and his younger brother, a NEET aspirant, for allegedly appearing for the medical entrance exam in place of his sibling.
According to police, first-year MBBS student Bhagirath Ram Vishnoi at a government college appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG) in place of his younger brother Gopala Ram in Barmer. Vishnoi is a first-year MBBS student at SN Medical College in Jodhpur.
In the second case, police registered a case against a 20-year-old student from Rajasthan for allegedly making a proxy candidate appear in place of her at the NEET medical entrance exam in Navi Mumbai.
How They Cheated
Bhagirath Ram Vishnoi told the police that in order to take the exam in place of his younger brother, he edited his Aadhaar card and put his own photo and went to take the exam.
How Were They Caught?
The Barmer cheating case came to light when Anita Chaudhary, principal of Barmer’s Antri Devi Government Girls Higher Secondary School, informed police that in place of candidate Gopala Ram, another person was taking the exam as a proxy. The brothers were arrested from the examination centre the same day.
In the Navi Mumbai case, based on a complaint by an official at the examination centre, a case was registered against the student from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 34 (act done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) and other relevant provisions.
Investigation continues in both cases.
Question Paper Controversy in Rajasthan
Rajasthan had also witnessed a controversy over the distribution of wrong question papers at a NEET exam centre, which led to some candidates walking out with the papers on May 5. The exam was later reconducted for the 120 affected candidates at the centre, the National Testing Agency had said, claiming the integrity of the examination process was not compromised. According to NTA sources, some candidates were distributed question papers in languages other than their choice of medium which prompted them to walk out of the centre.
THE GODHRA PRINCIPAL & TEACHER
The Gujarat Police had arrested five persons, including the principal and teacher of a school in Godhra, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. They allegedly tried to help 27 candidates clear the entrance exam for a sum of Rs 10 lakh each.
Who are the Suspects?
The arrested persons are Tushar Bhatt, school principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his aide Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra.
As per the FIR registered at Godhra taluka police station based on a complaint by the district education officer, Rs 7 lakh cash was recovered from Bhatt, who was working as a teacher at Jay Jalaram School and was appointed the deputy centre superintendent for NEET in the city.
How They Cheated
Roy had allegedly asked his students to opt for the Godhra centre so that Bhatt, Sharma and others can help them. As per the FIR, the accused told the candidates to solve the questions they knew and leave the others blank, which would be filled when papers are collected after the exam.
“Roy had told students to skip tough questions. As per the plan, Bhatt would tick the right answers on their OMR sheets during the 30 minutes given to centre supervisors to pack the papers. Bhatt had planned to take help of solved papers usually uploaded online by coaching centres almost immediately after such exams,” said Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki.
Out of 27 students who had either paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three were able to clear the exam, according to sources.
How Were They Caught?
The racket was unearthed at the Godhra school designated as a centre for the NEET-UG after the district collector received a tip-off that some persons were involved in malpractice.
As per the FIR, the district additional collector and district education officer reached the school on the day of the examination and questioned Bhatt. When they checked his mobile phone, they recovered a list of 16 candidates with their names, roll numbers and exam centres that had been sent to his Whatsapp number by Roy,
Status of the Investigation
The case was first registered by the Godhra Police on May 8 under various Indian Penal Code sections, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust. Gujarat’s home department on Sunday issued a notification to transfer cases of NEET-UG paper leaks registered by the state police to the CBI, paving the way for the central agency to take over the probe.
On June 24, a CBI team reached Godhra city to take over the probe. The evidence collected by the district police, including digital video recordings of alleged meetings between the accused a day before the examination, advance cheques amounting to Rs 2.3 crore paid by students as well as other evidences, including the panchnama of Rs 7 lakh allegedly seized from the vehicle of one of the accused were also handed over.
GRACE MARKS CONTROVERSY
On June 8, the Education Ministry had set up a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to more than 1,500 candidates in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam on May 5. The move came amid allegations of inflation of marks leading to 67 candidates sharing first rank in the exam.
There were calls from several quarters for a re-exam alleging that the grace marks awarded to make up for the loss of time at six exam centres have led to the inflation of marks and tampered with the chances of other candidates. These centres were located in:
- Meghalaya
- Bahadurgarh in Haryana
- Dantewada and Balodh in Chhattisgarh
- Surat in Gujarat
- Chandigarh
It was alleged that the grace marks contributed to six of the candidates from the same centre in Haryana scoring a perfect 720 along with 61 others.
Eventually, the Centre told the Supreme Court that the grace marks were being scrapped and these 1,563 students would be given an option to appear for a retest. On June 23, as many as 813 of the 1,563 candidates who were awarded grace marks appeared for a retest conducted at seven centres.
Comments
0 comment