Real-Life Munna Bhai: KGMU Medical Student Held In NEET Solvers' Scam

The Varanasi Police on Tuesday arrested a medical student from the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) and another person for their alleged involvement in a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination solving racket.

The medico has been identified as Dr Osama Shahid and the other person is Abhay Kumar Mehta, said the police on Wednesday.

This comes after an inter-state gang of solvers was busted during NEET exam-2021 in the Sarnath area on Monday.

The medico and his accomplice were arrested from the Pandeypur crossing on Tuesday.

Earlier, the police had arrested a BDS student Juli Kumari, who was allegedly impersonating the actual candidate, and her mother in this connection.

Varanasi Commissioner of police A. Satish Ganesh, said Dr Osama, a native of Mau district, who had appeared in MBBS final year exam at KGMU Lucknow this year, used to find aspirants on behalf of a Patna-based solvers' gang.

"This gang used to take contracts to send impersonators to appear in the entrance exam. In case a candidate qualified in the exam, the gang charged anything from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh from the candidate," he said.

Mehta is the brother of arrested BDS-II student Juli Kumari. As per reports, Mehta had convinced Juli to appear in the NEET exam in place of an aspirant from Tripura — Hena Biswas — after getting a proposal of Rs 5 lakh from the solvers’ gang.

"Police have recovered copies of 15 admit cards, four photos of aspirants, four receipts of couriers, two mobile phones containing chatting of gang members, details of money transaction and other items," he added.

Based on the interrogation of the four arrested, a few other members of the racket which is allegedly active in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and several other states — have been identified.

"Both the persons arrested on Tuesday have divulged the names of the members of their gang belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states. Several teams of police have been formed to nab the other members as well as the kingpin of the gang," he said.

The Commissioner further said, “There is a supply-side and a demand side. The demand side focuses on coaching centres and retrieves data on candidates who belong to well-off families and failed to clear the NEET exam in previous attempts. The supply-side identifies bright candidates, who have recently cleared the exam, but are financially weak.”

An FIR has been lodged under section 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document which he knows or has reason to believe to be a forged document) and 34 (criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention) of IPC against them with Sarnath police.

With IANS Inputs