NEET-UG cheating scandal busted in Godhra; 5 held, cheques worth ₹2.3 cr seized

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat police have arrested five people, including the school principal of Jalaram School in Godhra town in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district, for allegedly trying to help students clear the NEET-UG examination. The exam was held on May 5.

According to the police, the students were instructed to leave blanks on answer sheets for a teacher to complete later in a pay-for-pass plot.

This comes amid ongoing National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG exam controversies, where the people have alleged paper leak. 

The arrested accused include school teacher Tushar Bhatt, Parshuram Roy of Roy Overseas, an education consultancy firm, and Purshottam Sharma, the school principal.

Godhra town superintendent of police (SP) Himanshu Solanki said that the action came after the Panchmahal district collector got information regarding the cheating scam.

“The district education officer reached the spot and upon checking Bhatt’s phone, found a list of 30 students. The officials also recovered Rs.7 lakh cash from his car,” said Solanki. 

Following the arrest of the school principal and the teacher, the police arrested Roy and seized eight blank cheques and another set of cheques worth Rs.2.30 crore from him.

The SP said many cheques were signed by the parents whose children had appeared for NEET-UG exams at Jalaram School.

According to the police, Roy introduced the NEET aspirants to Bhatt, a physics teacher at the school and deputy superintendent for the exam appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).