Following allegations of irregularities during the NEET-UG exam held on May 5 in Godhra, Gujarat, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team has initiated an investigation. The local police had filed a case alleging attempts to help 27 candidates clear the exam for payments amounting to Rs 10 lakh each. Amidst nationwide student protests and legal actions demanding investigations into alleged paper leaks, the CBI has filed a new FIR against unidentified persons under sections of criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The Gujarat police have already apprehended five individuals, including a school principal and teacher from a Godhra school, and arrested them in connection with the alleged NEET-UG malpractice. This swift action followed a tip-off about irregularities at a designated exam centre. PTI reported that the malpractice was uncovered at a Godhra school designated as a NEET-UG exam centre on May 5, after a tip-off was received by the district collector.
According to the FIR, the arrested individuals include Tushar Bhatt, school principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his associate Vibhor Anand, and alleged middleman Arif Vohra, as confirmed by SP Solanki. Based on a complaint from the district education officer, the FIR states that Rs 7 lakh in cash was seized from Bhatt, who worked as a teacher at Jay Jalaram School and served as the deputy centre superintendent for NEET in the city.
Sources indicated that out of the 27 students who had either paid upfront or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three managed to pass the exam. Local sources report that the Gujarat police provided the CBI with over 1,000 pages of evidence at a circuit house. This comprehensive documentation includes phone location data of the accused, details of their activities, digital recordings of alleged pre-exam meetings, and financial records showing suspicious payments totaling Rs 2.3 crore made by students.
The state government swiftly transferred the investigation to the CBI within 24 hours of receiving the complaint at the Godhra Taluka Police Station. Godhra superintendent of police Himanshu Solanki revealed to TOI the tactics followed at the Godhra school where the malpractice actually occurred. Students only had to write the answers to the questions they knew. They were instructed to leave the remaining questions blank. “The empty answer-sheets were to be filled in by the centre’s deputy superintendent during the half-hour gap the supervisors get to pack the papers. The answer key was to be provided by coaching institutes, which make the key available online after the exam,” TNN quoted Solanki.
Candidates are required to provide two city options for exam centres when filling out their NEET (UG) application and the centres are allocated randomly by the system on the basis of their choice. However, it is yet to be found out as to how these students got seat allocations in the compromised centre.
Parent representative and counsellor Sudha Shenoy informed TOI that before filling the form in February, parents contacted her regarding agents offering to complete the form for candidates, ensuring exam centres far from cities. In 2023, two medical aspirants witnessed a dramatic improvement in their NEET-UG ranks after retaking the exam and changing their exam centres. As reported by the TOI, Ashalata (name changed) jumped from a rank exceeding 2 lakh in 2022 to a coveted spot around 8,000 in 2023. Similarly, another candidate improved from a rank beyond 10 lakh in 2022 to approximately 13,000 the following year. Both now pursue their medical education at a Mumbai college. This significant increase in rank after switching exam centres has sparked curiosity among medical educators, prompting them to investigate the factors behind this phenomenon.
Government sources, as cited by the TOI, indicate efforts to compile a list of students who excelled in their second NEET UG attempt at lesser-known centres and are currently pursuing MBBS in government-run medical colleges. During NEET UG application submissions, candidates select two preferred cities for exam centres. Concerns have arisen from parents reporting interactions with agents promising high ranks and securing distant exam centres for candidates, purportedly to manipulate rank outcomes. These agents allegedly demanded sums such as Rs 1 lakh upfront and an additional Rs 9 lakh after results, a practice a counsellor interviewed by TOI said she is aware of and actively discouraged.
