NEET score scam: CBI arrests 2 for charging ₹87.5 lakh per candidate
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New Delhi: In a significant crackdown on a medical admission racket, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two individuals, including an education consultant, for allegedly deceiving aspiring MBBS students by falsely promising to manipulate their NEET UG 2025 scores in exchange for Rs 87.5 lakh per candidate.
The accused, identified as Sandeep Shah from Solapur and Salim Patel from Navi Mumbai, were apprehended after collecting money from the parents of several candidates at Hotel ITC Grand Central in Parel, Mumbai. According to CBI officials, in some instances, the payments were routed through hawala channels.
A case was registered against the two on June 9 on charges of defrauding NEET candidates and their families by claiming they had links with fictitious officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the examination. However, the agency clarified that no evidence has been found so far to suggest the involvement of any government officials or NTA personnel.
According to the investigation, the accused promised low-scoring candidates inflated marks in return for hefty sums. One of the men would meet parents at a luxury hotel, initially quoting Rs 90 lakh per candidate before negotiating a deal at Rs 87.5 lakh. He falsely claimed he could influence NTA officials and assured clients that candidates would receive their ‘revised’ scores six hours before the official results were announced.
CBI officials revealed that the main negotiator was in constant touch with the co-accused, who runs an admission consultancy firm in Navi Mumbai. Another individual, associated with a similar consultancy in Pune, was also linked to the racket.
A forensic examination of the mobile phones of the arrested individuals revealed incriminating digital evidence, including chats that contained candidate details such as roll numbers, admit cards, and OMR sheets, along with records of hawala-based financial transactions.
The main negotiator was arrested in Mumbai on June 9, while the co-accused was taken into custody in Maharashtra’s Sangli district on June 10. Both were presented before the Special CBI Court in Mumbai, which initially granted CBI custody till June 13 and later extended the remand to June 16.
With IANS inputs