The accused admitted that he had agreed to solve the question papers for six candidates in exchange for Rs. 10 lakh each.
Godhra NEET Scandal: A criminal case has been registered against a schoolteacher and two others in Godhra, Gujarat’s Panchmahal district, for their involvement in a scandalous attempt to assist six NEET-UG candidates by offering to solve their papers for a hefty sum of Rs. 10 lakh each. The racket came to light at a school designated as a NEET-UG exam center after the district collector received a tip-off regarding possible malpractice. The FIR revealed that a physics teacher, Tushar Bhatt, serving as the deputy superintendent of the exam, was involved along with two accomplices, Parsuram Roy and Arif Vora. The discovery of Rs. 7 lakh in cash in Bhatt’s possession, paid as an advance by Vora to secure a candidate’s position in the merit list, further exposed the depth of the scheme.
According to PTI, an agreement was reached between the accused and the NEET-UG aspirants, instructing the candidates to leave unanswered questions they were unsure of during the exam. Subsequently, the answers to these questions were to be written once the papers were collected after the exam, they said, quoting the FIR.
According to the FIR filed at the Godhra taluka police station based on a complaint from the district education officer, Bhatt, employed at Jay Jalaram School, was entrusted with the role of deputy center superintendent for the NEET exam. During an investigation by a team comprising the district additional collector and district education officer, evidence was found on Bhatt’s mobile phone. The recovered list of 16 candidates, along with their details, sent to Bhatt’s WhatsApp by co-accused Roy.
When asked about the list, Bhatt said these were candidates who were to take the NEET exam at his centre. Bhatt admitted that he had agreed to solve the question papers for six candidates in exchange for Rs. 10 lakh each. The District Education Officer, Kirit Patel, disclosed that one candidate had already paid an advance of Rs. 7 lakh, which was confiscated by the authorities.
As per the FIR, the accused said the candidates who promised to pay money were instructed to solve the questions that they knew and leave others blank so that they could be filled with answers when papers were collected from them after the exam.
The three accused were booked for criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy, a Godhra taluka police station official said.
The NEET (UG) is an all India entrance test for students who wish to pursue undergraduate medical (MBBS), dental (BDS) and AYUSH (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS) courses in government and private institutions in India.
