CBI's Exposé Of Two NEET Scandals Gives Ammo To Stalin, Tamil Nadu CM Slams ‘Market-Driven’ Exam

A fresh wave of controversy has engulfed the NEET-UG examination as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probes two serious scams, one involving proxy impersonation in 2023 and another exposing marks manipulation in 2025. These twin cases have triggered political tremors in Tamil Nadu, a state where opposition to NEET has long been a cornerstone of government policy.

According to a report by The Hindu , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin responded with a sharp rebuke on social media, branding NEET a “moral scandal” and declaring, “Yet another case that proves NEET isn’t about merit; it’s only about the market. That’s why we’re saying it loud and clear, #NEETisnotNEAT, and we have every reason to.” 

Stalin accused the system of being rigged from the outset, citing irregularities at every stage, from question paper leaks to post-exam score tampering, and argued that the exam disadvantages Tamil Nadu’s students, who previously relied on Class 12 marks for medical admissions.

Stalin also targeted the AIADMK, now allied with the BJP, for failing to defend the state’s interests. “The AIADMK men, who have time to sit as showpieces in the RSS-BJP conferences, do not have time to raise this with their bosses,” he charged, framing the issue as not just educational but also one of federal autonomy, with the center imposing a flawed system on the states.

As per a report by The New Indian Express, the CBI’s 2023 case centers on a second-year MBBS student from Rajasthan, Vikash, who allegedly wrote the NEET exam in Delhi on behalf of Praveen Godara, a resident of Jodhpur, leading to a fraudulent medical admission in the Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Noida. Investigators say Vikash mimicked the candidate’s handwriting and signature on the exam and attendance sheets.

The 2025 case is even more startling: Dr Sandeep Jawahar Shah, a Maharashtra-based doctor, was arrested for allegedly manipulating NEET scores in exchange for Rs 90 lakh per candidate, working with an accomplice posing as an NTA official.

A sting operation using dummy parents caught the duo negotiating at a Mumbai hotel, exposing how the scam operated and further eroding public trust in the exam process.

Together, these cases have reignited calls from Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK government to scrap NEET altogether, bolstering its campaign to reclaim the state’s right to determine its own medical admission process—and stoking what is fast becoming a renewed center-state standoff over education policy.