CBI team visits 2 private Gujarat schools as part of probe into NEET-UG irregularities

GODHRA: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Wednesday visited two private schools in Gujarat's Kheda and Panchmahal districts as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5, officials said. The CBI team first visited Jay Jalaram International School on Sevaliya-Balasinor highway near Wanakbori thermal power plant in Kheda district to collect information about NEET as it was designated as one of the exam centres, they said.

School owner Dixit Patel confirmed CBI personnel visited his school as part of their investigation into alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), a nationwide entrance examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission in undergraduate medical programmes.

"The CBI team visited those classrooms where candidates appeared for the NEET exam on May 5. They took photographs of the classrooms and checked the angle of CCTV cameras installed there," Patel told reporters. From Kheda, the CBI team visited Jay Jalaram School near Godhra town of Panchmahal district, which was also a centre for the test in the state. Both the schools, located 100km apart, are owned by Patel.

A case was registered by the Godhra police on May 8 against three persons under various Indian Penal Code sections, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, for allegedly trying to help 27 candidates clear the NEET-UG for a sum of Rs 10 lakh each.

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On June 23, the CBI filed a fresh FIR (first information report) against unidentified persons under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating), among others, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

The next day, a CBI team reached Godhra to investigate the case of alleged irregularities. The CBI has taken over the investigation of five new cases of alleged malpractices in NEET-UG that were being probed by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar. The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

The Gujarat police have so far arrested five persons, including the principal and a teacher of a school in Godhra, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. The racket was unearthed after the Panchmahal district collector received a tip-off that some persons were involved in malpractice linked to the exam, as per the FIR registered on May 8 by the Godhra police. Since the tip-off was received in advance, authorities prevented any malpractice at the centre (Jay Jalaram School) and the exam was conducted without a hitch, the FIR said.

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The arrested persons are physics teacher Tushar Bhatt, school principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his aide Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra. As per the FIR registered at the Godhra taluka police station on a complaint of the district education officer, Rs 7 lakh in cash was recovered from Bhatt, who was working as a teacher at Jay Jalaram School and was appointed the deputy centre superintendent for NEET in the city.

Out of 27 students who had either paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three were able to clear the exam, according to sources. The accused told the candidates to solve questions they knew and leave the remaining blank, which would be filled by Bhatt when papers are collected after the exam, as per the FIR. More than 24 lakh students had appeared for the NEET UG 2024 across centres in 571 cities nationwide. Results were released on June 4.