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All But NEET. Varanasi Police Busts A ‘Paid Seat’ Racket

(Osama Shahid and Vikas Kumar in Varanasi Police custody)

VARANASI: With the busting of a well-knit gang involved in solving papers of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) by the Varanasi Police, involvement of certain career counselling centres at Kota in Rajasthan has come to the fore. Investigations by the Varanasi Police have revealed that Nilesh Singh (aka PK), a resident of Patna in Bihar, is the kingpin of NEET Solver Gang that has allegedly been identifying and signing up candidates willing to pay a hefty sum (up to Rs 50 lakhs) for an MBBS/Engineering seat. Also Watch & ReadThis Proud Son Of Delhi Carpenter Will Be A Doctor From AIIMS

According to the investigators, the gang members made over Rs 100 crore by unscrupulous means. The accused had a typical modus operandi. They used to scout for candidates who failed to clear NEET but had the means to pay for an MBBS or Engineering seat and make an offer.

Apart from PK, who is said to be the brain behind this inter-state gang, Osama Shahid, a final year MBBS student with King George Medical University (KGMU) Lucknow, is the vital cog of this gang. He has also been named as one of the masterminds and even tried to escape the police dragnet by applying for bail. His attempts were thwarted by the Varanasi Police, who lodged another case against him and sought help from 16 police districts of three different states. The police have also written to the varsity that he be rusticated from the college.

(Osama Shahid)

Shahid and co-accused Vikas Kumar are currently lodged in Varanasi jail and a fresh case has been registered against the main members of the gang by the father of a candidate from Jhansi, who was lured in the scam on the pretext of getting admission in a medical college by unscrupulous means.

A fresh case has also been registered at Sarnath police station naming eight persons on the complaint of a candidate’s father. The complainant was allegedly enticed by the gang members and offered an assured medical seat by the solver gang. The candidate was contacted when he was studying in a coaching institution and was preparing for the NEET exam.

Varanasi Police Commissioner, Satish Ganesh, told The New Indian that PK is currently on the run along with his family. PK belongs to Chhapra district of Bihar and was residing in Patna along with his family.

(Satish Ganesh, Commissioner, Varanasi Police)

It may be noted that the Varanasi Police had arrested two members during NEET examination at St. Francis Xavier School, after which the police identified the gang and its clandestine operation. The gang was allegedly operating from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Julie Kumari, a BDS student from Banaras Hindu University, was arrested by Varanasi Police on Sunday. Teams of Varanasi Police are raiding possible hideouts of PK as he holds the key to this well oiled gang.

“In place of the original candidates, the members of the gang would appear for the NEET examinations and help them crack the exams. The gang used to superimpose the pictures of the proxy candidates on the admit cards to gain them entry. In return, they would ‘charge’ a huge amount of money from the students. Additionally, the gang members would make these students sign a contract with them,” said Commissioner Ganesh. “More arrests will be made as the ambit of the investigation has been expanded”, he added.

It may be recalled that the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted NEET-UG 2021 on September 12, 2021. Also Watch & ReadMeet NEET Toppers: Some Stayed In Kota, Some Went Online To Beat COVID

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