Impersonators giving exam, students checking phones: Malpractices mar NEET retest
What's the story
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) re-examination on Sunday was marred by incidents of malpractice. An 18-year-old student was caught using a mobile phone for cheating at the Zilla Parishad High School in Ragannaguda, Hyderabad. The student had hidden his phone in a washroom ventilator and was caught red-handed while searching for answers during the exam.
Investigation details
Mobile phone found in washroom ventilator
Despite two rounds of security checks by police teams, the mobile phone remained undetected until the student was caught. The invigilator grew suspicious after the student spent an unusually long time in the washroom. When he sent a few staff members to check, the student was caught red-handed checking his phone. The accused confessed to the act during interrogation. A comprehensive inspection of the device found that he was using Google to look for answers. He is in police custody.
Varanasi case
Student carried SIM card, old question paper in undergarments
In a separate incident, another student was arrested after he was caught carrying a SIM card and an old question paper of the medical entrance exam inside his undergarments at Harishchandra Post Graduate College in Varanasi. The student from Ballia district was caught during pre-examination frisking and taken into custody immediately.
Impersonation arrests
Nine people detained for impersonating registered candidates
In Bihar's Lakhisarai district, nine people were detained for allegedly impersonating registered candidates during the NEET-UG re-examination. Superintendent of Police Prerna Kumar confirmed the detentions and said, "Nine persons have been detained on suspicion of impersonating NEET-UG candidates during the examination." "An FIR may be registered after written complaints are received from the centre superintendents concerned," Kumar told PTI.
Bihar
'Munna Bhai MBBS'-style cheating racket
Police said that a group arranged "solvers" to sit for candidates and take the medical entrance test on their behalf in a Munna Bhai MBBS-style cheating racket. The crackdown resulted in the arrest of 24 persons, including medical students and biometric firm staff. Police suspect Arpit Raj, a student at ANM Medical College and Hospital in Gaya, of being one of the masterminds. Raj has already been questioned by the CBI in connection with the 2024 NEET paper leak case.