Munnabhai MBBS played out at a Bihar NEET re-test centre, 24 arrested
BIHAR,JUNE 22 : The Bihar Police has busted a cheating racket in Bihar’s Lakhisarai during the NEET-UG retest, with police alleging that a gang arranged “solvers” to fraudulently take the medical entrance exam on behalf of genuine candidates. The MO used for the cheating attempt is reminiscent of the plot line of the 2003 Sanjay Dutt-starrer Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., in which an actual doctor discreetly helps the protagonist solve and pass a medical entrance examination.
The crackdown in Bihar led to the arrest of 24 people, including medical students and biometric company employees involved in the examination process.
The gang was busted as more than 20 lakh medical aspirants took the NEET (UG) retest on Sunday after the original test was scrapped after the examination question paper was found to have been leaked.
Police suspect medical student Arpit Raj, a student of ANM Medical College and Hospital, Gaya, to be one of the masterminds behind the cheating network.
Incidently, Raj had earlier been questioned by the CBI in connection with a paper leak case related to the 2024 NEET-PG examination.
Another medical student, Mayank Kashyap, a third-year MBBS student at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) was also arrested in connection with the case.
Fourteen employees of the biometric company involved in the examination process were also arrested as part of the probe.
UNCOVERING PROXY EXAM NETWORK
The alleged network came under the scanner after Mayank Kashyap reportedly entered the Hasanpur High School examination centre posing as a biometric company employee.
He was the first person caught during the investigation, following which police launched raids at KRK Higher Secondary School and Kendriya Vidyalaya in Lakhisarai.
During these raids, seven candidates and several other people linked to the alleged operation were arrested.
Investigators suspect the gang had planned to manipulate the exam process by using insiders and replacing candidates with trained solvers.
MEDICAL, NURSING STUDENTS ARRESTED
The probe has also revealed the involvement of students from medical and nursing backgrounds.
Banaras Hindu University nursing student Poonam Kumari was allegedly caught appearing in the exam by posing as another candidate. AIIMS Rae Bareli student Saurabh Jha was also arrested.
An intern at Shahdara Medical College in Delhi, Aman Agarwal, was among those caught, while Nalanda Medical College and Hospital nursing student Sanjeet and his brother were also arrested.
RESTRICTIONS FAILED TO STOP INVOLVEMENT
The investigation has raised questions over how medical students allegedly managed to participate despite restrictions imposed by their institutions during the NEET exam period.
Medical colleges had instructed students not to leave their campuses during the examination. Institutions, including PMCH, had organised seminars and quizzes as part of monitoring measures.
However, some students reportedly remained absent from these activities. Police found that Mayank Kashyap had left the college on the pretext of illness and was later arrested in Lakhisarai.
The Bihar Police investigation is now focused on uncovering the full network, identifying more people involved and determining the extent of the alleged manipulation in the NEET re-examination process.
-PTI
