Bihar Police on Monday busted a “Munna Bhai MBBS”-style cheating racket in Lakhisarai district after suspected cases of impersonation and cheating surfaced at multiple NEET UG re-exam centres in Bihar. A total of 30 people have been arrested during police crackdown, including nine accused who were allegedly appearing in place of other candidates.
The arrests came just a day after the NEET re-examination. The crackdown has raised fresh concerns about the integrity of one of India’s most competitive medical examinations, which has already been under scrutiny following the paper leak and aspirants suicide cases.
According to officials, the arrests were made during inspections conducted at various NEET examination centres in the district. Sources said one impersonator was caught at the KRK High School examination centre, while seven others were detained from Kendriya Vidyalaya. Another accused was reportedly apprehended at the Hasanpur School examination centre.
Authorities said the accused belonged to different districts and were allegedly attempting examination on behalf of other candidates.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about organised examination fraud despite extensive security measures put in place for the NEET UG re-test.
Apart from the nine alleged impersonators, 21 more individuals were arrested for their suspected involvement in the examination fraud network. Officials are investigating their role and trying to determine whether they were part of a larger organised operation.
Based on information gathered during interrogation, police teams have launched raids at locations believed to be connected to the suspected network. The Police officials suspect that additional individuals may be linked to the alleged racket and have indicated that further action could follow as the investigation progresses.
SDPO Shivam Kumar confirmed that 30 people were arrested during the NEET UG re-examination. Of them, nine were allegedly taking the exam on behalf of other candidates, while 21 others were found to have links to the suspected fraud.
Authorities have not disclosed further details at this stage, stating that the full extent of the network will become clear after the investigation is completed.