Patna: Police have busted a solver gang in Lakhisarai district during the NEET-UG re-exam by arresting 30 people, including medical students and employees of a biometric company.
SP Prerna Confirms Arrests
Lakhisarai SP, Prerna, said police raided the exam centres located in three schools, arresting all the accused and recovering mobile phones and other documents from them. She said the arrested individuals comprised nine impersonators, a candidate, two helpers, and 18 biometric staff. The helpers, Arpit Singh, a student at ANMCH, Gaya and Ranit Kumar, a student at BMIMS, Rajgir were also arrested. Police suspect Arpit Singh also known as Arpit Raj, is one of the masterminds behind the alleged network. Raj had earlier been questioned by the CBI in connection with the 2024 NEET paper leak case.
Police said one of the arrested impersonators, Mayank Kashyap, a fourth-year student at Patna Medical College and Hospital, entered the Hasanpur examination centre in collusion with Ankit Kumar, an employee of the biometric company.
PMCH Student Arrested as Impersonator
Kashyap allegedly entered the examination centre posing as a biometric company employee. After Kashyap’s interrogation, police arrested employees of the biometric company and subsequently the impersonaters.
Police are investigating bank accounts, mobile call details, and digital transactions. Police investigations revealed that medical students had agreed to take the exam on behalf of genuine candidates for amounts ranging from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.
Raids were conducted at Government High School Hasanpur, KRK Higher Secondary School, and Kendriya Vidyalaya examination centres, leading to the arrests. According to sources, one suspect was caught at the KRK School examination centre, seven at Kendriya Vidyalaya and one at Hasanpur School. All are reportedly residents of Lakhisarai district.
Lakhisarai SDM Prabhakar Kumar said: "We had received information that some suspicious individuals might participate in the examination. We were given a few names. During verification, we became suspicious of one young man standing in the queue. We conducted his biometric verification multiple times, but he kept trying to mislead us." He further stated that biometric verification employees also came under suspicion during the investigation.
Those arrested include Saurabh Jha, a student at AIIMS Rae Bareli; Aman Agarwal, an MBBS intern at University College of Medical Sciences Sahadra, Delhi, Mantosh Kumar, a student of New Jalpaiguri Medical College, Vivek Kumar, a student at ANMMCH; and Himanshu Kumar, a student at Government Medical College, Satna. Others are Roshan Kumar, a B.Pharma student at NMCH, Patna, Chanchal Kumari, a BAMS student at Government Ayurvedic College, Odisha; Jitendra Kumar, an MBBS student at NMCH, Patna, and Poonam Kumari, a B.Sc. Nursing student at BHU). A candidate, Sanjit Kumar, a native of Nalanda district, has also been arrested.
