Assam JEE (Mains) topper, who used proxy for examination, arrested
The topper of JEE (Mains) from Assam, Neel Nakshatra Das, and his father, Dr. Jyotirmoy Das, have been arrested by the Guwahati Police after the former allegedly used a proxy to write the test, which is meant for admission in prestigious engineering colleges, including IITs. Three other people — Hamendra Nath Sarma, Pranjal Kalita, and Hirulal Pathak — have also been arrested.
When the results were declared, Neel scored 99.8%, making him the state topper. However, an FIR highlighted the forgery. "We investigated the case and have unearthed that a proxy was used by the candidate through the help of another agency that acted as a middleman," Commissioner MP Gupta was quoted by NDTV. The employees of the testing center were also involved.
The matter came to light after one Mitradev Sharma filed a police complaint, on the basis of a phone call recording and WhatsApp chats, wherein Neel purportedly admitted to using unfair means for clearing the examination. It is alleged that Neel was supposed to sit for the examination at a center in Borjhar, but left the hall after completing the biometric attendance formalities.
Reportedly, the exam was written by a proxy sitting outside. Neel was able to exit the hall with the help of an invigilator. Das, who is a gynecologist at Down Town Hospital in Guwahati, paid Rs. 15-20 lakh for the forgery, Sharma, a resident of Dispur, said in the complaint. Besides the father-son duo, the three arrested, worked at the testing center.
On the case, Suprotiv Lal Baruah, Additional DCP (West), Guwahati, said a special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case. "As of now, we haven't come across any other case of misrepresentation," Baruah said. Police said the examination center has been sealed. Gupta added that this case could be part of a larger scam, and all aspects are being probed.
