NEET 2018: Four arrested by CBI on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating

New Delhi, May 10 : The Central Board of Investigation (CBI), on the basis of a complaint registered by the Director of the CBSE, has arrested four persons in connection with using fraudulent means to help candidates secure admission to medical colleges through NEET 2018.

Among the arrested persons is Mohit Kumar alias Mohit Chaudhury from Khurja, Uttar Pradesh, accused of being a tout who would help prospective students clear NEET and secure admissions to government and private medical colleges. Apart from Kumar, Arti Tomar and Ashwani Tomar, owners of a Delhi-based education agency named Akruti Education which allegedly provided consultancy services to prospective NEET candidates and Manoj Kumar Sikka, owner of another consultancy based in Ludhiana, Punjab were also arrested. As per media reports, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal was quoted saying “Searches were conducted on the residential and official premises of the accused in Delhi, Khurja and Ludhiana, leading to recovery of incriminating documents including original educational certificates, admit cards of NEET exam, blank cheques, rubber stamps of educational institutions, etc.”

Complaint filed by CBSE

As stated in the complaint lodged by Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj, Director, CBSE, all four of the accused “by using unfair means and in conspiracy along with some unknown candidates/parents and other private persons are trying/planning/attempting to qualify their known candidates thereby depriving the deserving ones using illegal, unfair and unscrupulous means”. According to Dr. Bhardwaj, such acts would lead to “sabotage of examination system” and lead to cheating of genuine NEET candidates and the CBSE.

Check the complaint filed by the CBSE below -

Previous instances of cheating

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was fully introduced in 2017 as the sole examination for admissions to all MBBS seats (with the exception of AIIMS and JIPMER) and all BDS seats in India. The idea behind introducing NEET was to ensure that candidates would only be selected on merit, and that the system of donations/hidden fees which was prevalent earlier would cease to exist. All colleges were mandatorily required to reveal their entire fee structure and only take admissions on the basis of the NEET merit list. Candidates who failed to qualify the exam would not be granted admissions.

While the idea behind NEET has proven to be appealing on paper, the all India medical entrance exam has faced its fair share of hiccups with regard to candidates attempting to use unfair means to qualify in the past. In its earlier avatar as the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT), the exam was completely scrapped and had to be held again in 2015 after it was discovered that more than 40 students across the country had attempted to cheat by using sophisticated listening devices. Post the conclusion of NEET 2017, many candidates demanded for a re-test following allegations of a paper leak from centres in Bihar and Rajasthan.

The CBSE and the CBI were able to pre-empt similar incidents taking place this year and their proactiveness has helped crack another case of attempted cheating. NEET 2018 was conducted on May 6, 2018, with more than 13 lakh candidates appearing in 2255 centres across 136 cities. The result of NEET is expected to be declared by June 5.