ATS busts gang involved in leaking NEET-2017 paper, medical colleges under scanner

Jaipur: When NEET-2017 was being conducted across the country on Sunday, the Rajasthan anti terrorist squad (ATS) was busy busting an interstate gang of criminals involved in leaking medical entrance exam papers and also duping aspirants of lacks of rupees by promising them a place on the merit list.

The ATS has arrested five members of this gang including an employee of the state government’s animal husbandry department and members of medical mafia in Delhi.  The agency also detained 11 students from Jaipur and Delhi who had paid money to this gang. Officials said that authorities of some medical colleges, hand-in-glove with this gang, were also under scanner and may be arrested in the coming days. The gang was selling papers to NEET aspirants through an office – Edu Guides and Edu Target Consultancy Private Limited – in Jaipur’s Ganpati Plaza. The paper seized from this gang was, however, found not to be matching with the actual paper.

Five accused who were arrested are:

• Vikram Singha – He was living in Sun & Moon Apartments in Vidhyadhar Nagar’s Sector – 5. Vikram hails from Savitri Nagar in Delhi.
• Vikas Kumar Sinha – Vikram’s brother. The brother stayed together in Vidhyadhar Nagar.
• Bhupendra Sharma – an employee at the state government’s animal husbandry department.
• Ashok Gupta
• Rahul – A resident of Delhi.

ADG, ATS Umesh Mishra said that a big racket of criminals involved in leaking medical entrance exam papers is active across the country.

Students appearing in NEET-2017 in Jaipur being examined with a metal detector. Image credit: Post Staff.

“After getting a tip-off about this gang, we laid a trap and used our intelligence sources to identify the criminals,” said Mishra.

He said the gang had links with criminals in Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar and several other states.

“From leaking medical entrance exam papers to promising a place on the merit list despite the candidate scoring poorly, this gang could do anything. During preliminary investigation, it has come up that some medical institutions and colleges were hand-in-glove with the members of this gang,” said Mishra.

The officer said that the gang members used to get commission from these medical colleges, apart from charging students separately.

“We came to know about one Vikram Sinha, a resident of Delhi who opened an office in Ganpati Plaza in Jaipur and ran this racket. He had connections with one Bhupendra Sharma who works in the state’s animal husbandry department and some members of the medical mafia in Delhi including Umashankar and Rahul,” said Mishra.

He added that Vikram and other gang members – in connivance with medical institutions and the members of medical mafia in Delhi – leaked papers.

The ATS on Sunday caught these criminals red-handed while leaking a paper.

“The ATS contacted the CBSE control room and found that though the paper which found in possession of these criminals didn’t match with the actual paper, but these gang members were very resourceful,” said Mishra.

The police have arrested Vikram Sinha, Vikash Sinha and Bhupendra Sharma from Jaipur and Ashok Gupta and Rahul from Delhi.

Eleven students – three from Jaipuir and eight from Delhi are being interrogated.

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