NEET row: 'Solver gang' leaked question papers, offered 'Munna Bhais' to students

The Bihar police are uncovering paper leaks and the presence of proxies of students attempting this nation-wide exam held for 24 lakh medical students in the country.

According to media reports, police have said that Ravi Atri, who hails from Neemka village in Greater Noida, is one of the key members of the 'solver gang' that helps aspiring medical students to fraudulently clear the NEET-UG exam. Atri was providing exam papers to students a day before the exam and would also offer students the option of providing a proxy to sit for the exam.

NEET-UG exam controversy

The NEET-UG exam which was held in May this year came under a cloud when an unusually high number of students scored a perfect 720 marks. This was at first attributed to ‘grace marks’ given due to delay in distributing question papers and other logistical issues.

The National Testing Agency, the central body that conducts the NEET-UG exam, promised to reconsider the grace marks given to some students even as the Supreme Court strongly pulled them up after many students filed petitions in court.

The issue started to snowball into a huge controversy with political parties demanding justice for the lakhs of students.

Paper leaks

Bihar Police investigations have now revealed that it is more than a matter of grace marks that has gone wrong in the NEET-UG exam this year. The exam paper had been leaked to select candidates a day before the exam by Atri’s syndicate known as the 'solver gang'.

The solver gang would obtain and distribute solved question papers via social media platforms for a big fee.

Some reports said that Atri is in police records for his involvement in previous exam paper leaks. But, he seemed to be still operating in various states, leveraging his connections within the 'exam mafia'.

Atri would obtain the exam papers well in advance, typically a day before the examination, and pass them onto students through social media.

They also provided a proxy, a 'Munna Bhai' (a reference to the Hindi film, 'Munna Bhai MBBS', where a doctor is roped in to sit for the medical exam in the place of the uneducated hero). And, the students were promised that this proxy would score high marks.

An earlier report had revealed that ₹32 lakh was charged by the solver gang to provide the leaked question papers. In fact, the report said that two accused, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, picked up by the Bihar police, were part of a problem-solver gang which leaks question papers of prestigious exams such as NEET, BPSC and UPSC.

Atri's background

Ravi Atre is a medical student himself, who went to Kota in 2007 to prepare for the medical entrance exam. After years of preparation, he cleared the exam in 2012 and was admitted to PGI Rohtak.

But he dropped out in the fourth year after he allegedly got involved with the 'exam mafia' and was sitting as a proxy for other candidates. He also started playing a key role in circulating the leaked papers among students.

There is another key figure in this solver gang. The police have also identified Sanjeev Mukhiya, who has also played a big role in the NEET paper leak. Reports said that Mukhiya may have fled to Nepal after the controversy came to light to avoid arrest.

Mukhiya’s son allegedly is also involved in leaking question papers for the third phase of the teacher recruitment exams conduced by Bihar Public Service Commission, said media reports.

Not just NEET

Police investigations have shown that the solver gang has been active in other public exams such as the constable recruitment exams and the teacher recruitment exams in many states.

Even as the government said it cannot cancel this year's NEET-UG exam, a CBI probe has been launched into the irregularities involving the exam.

The Centre on Friday (June 21) also notified a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations.

There is a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for offenders.