CBI team lands in Godhra, Gujarat for probe into NEET-UG scam

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team reached Godhra city in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday (June 24) to investigate the case of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam held on May 5.

Superintendent of Police, Panchmahal, Himanshu Solanki, said the CBI team is meeting local police officers.

The Gujarat government on Sunday decided to hand over the probe into the NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) irregularities reported from centres in Gujarat to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.

“Since the CBI is already investigating irregularities in NEET examination across the country, we have also decided to hand over the case lodged at Godhra to the CBI for a thorough probe,” Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said.

NTA ebars students

The move comes after the National Testing Agency (NTA) debarred 63 candidates from all over the country over cheating during the exam. Of the total, 30 are from various centers in Godhra and 17 from Bihar.

A case was registered by the Godhra police on May 8 under various Indian Penal Code sections, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, for allegedly trying to help 27 candidates clear the NEET-UG exam for a sum of Rs 10 lakh each.

Centres in two districts in Gujarat – Godhra and Kheda – have been investigated by the police. Three FIRs have been filed and five accused have been arrested.

Other states

“All the students engaged in malpractices in Kheda were from Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,” a police statement in Godhra said.

An FIR was filed against 26 parents of these students. The case will now be handled by the CBI.

Investigation revealed that as part of the conspiracy, at least 30 students from Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha and other states chose the Jay Jalaram School as their exam centre, the statement said.

Protest by students

Meanwhile, students in Rajkot held a protest against the reported re-examination of the NEET-UG examination. Parents and a number of doctors in Gujarat formed an informal association opposing the re-examination, saying it is injustice to the meritorious students who worked hard for the test.

The re-test was held on Sunday, June 23.

“We are deeply concerned about our children. The uncertainty around the exam is causing them stress. They have worked very hard and this is unfair to them,” read a press release issued by the organisation.

Godhra gang

A primary investigation by Gujarat police revealed that OMR (optical mark recognition) sheets were left partially blank by some candidates and these were kept separately after submission. These were later filled by Tushar Bhatt and Purushottam Sharma, part of the NEET scam ring.

Sharma, a principal, and Bhatt, a physics teacher of the Jay Jalaram School in Godhra, were also supervisors at the NEET exams held at the school which was an examination center.

Further investigation revealed that at another centre in Kheda, a similar modus operandi was carried out by the same accused.

Police findings

The police raided the Jay Jalaram School teachers at the school and their homes after a tip-off received by the Godhra Collector before the NEET exam on May 5. They found Rs 7 lakh in cash and cheques worth Rs 2.3 crore from Bhatt and Sharma, which, they confessed were received from the parents of the students.

Apart from them, two other accused who have been arrested are Arif Vora and Vibhor Anand, who were identified as middle men in the racket.

Vora and Anand were responsible for bringing in students to Sharma, who ran the operation from his coaching centre in Vadodara. “Bhatt held a meeting with the parents of the students seeking malpractices and was in touch with (them) before and after the examination,” read the FIR.

Noticeably, the results of NEET-UG exam were results were declared on June 4, the day Lok Sabha election results were announced. A row erupted after as many as 67 students topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.