Godhra: Five individuals, including the principal and a teacher from a school in Godhra town, Panchmahal district, Gujarat, have been arrested for allegedly facilitating 27 candidates to clear the NEET-UG exam for a payment of Rs 10 lakh each.

The arrested individuals include Tushar Bhatt, school principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his associate Vibhor Anand, and intermediary Arif Vohra.

The illicit operation was exposed at Jay Jalaram School in Godhra, designated as a NEET-UG examination center, on May 5 after the district collector received information indicating malpractice.

A team comprising the district additional collector and district education officer found a list of candidates, including their names, roll numbers, and exam centers, on Bhatt’s phone, sent by co-accused Roy via WhatsApp. Bhatt admitted that six candidates from the list had promised to pay Rs 10 lakh each to have their papers solved. One aspirant had already paid Rs 7 lakh upfront, which was confiscated by authorities. Subsequently, the DEO filed a case leading to an FIR filed on May 9.

According to the FIR lodged at Godhra taluka police station based on the DEO’s complaint, Rs 7 lakh in cash was seized from Bhatt. He was employed as a teacher at Jay Jalaram School and appointed deputy center superintendent for NEET in the city.

Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki stated that the accused, Parshuram Roy, operates a coaching center in Vadodara and was coordinating the entire operation through Arif Vahora. “Roy instructed students to skip difficult questions. Bhatt was to mark correct answers on their OMR sheets during the 30-minute period when supervisors packed the papers. Bhatt planned to use solved papers from the answer key typically available online from coaching centers shortly after such exams,” Solanki added.

“Roy persuaded at least 27 students that he could ensure their exam success for Rs 10 lakh each. During a raid, we found cheques amounting to Rs 2.30 crore in his office.” Solanki explained.

It is learned that out of the 27 students who either paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three were able to clear the exam. DeshGujarat