Godhra Central Bureau of Investigation, which was probing alleged malpractices in conducting the NEET-UG exam at a private school in Gujarat's Godhra in May, arrested its owner on Sunday.
With the arrest of Dixit Patel, owner of Jay Jalaram School situated near Godhra in Panchmahal district, the number of people arrested so far (five of them were detained by the Gujarat Police) has increased to six.
Jay Jalaram School was one of the designated centers where the NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 5.
Patel was arrested in the early hours of Sunday at his residence in Panchmahal district, prosecutor Rakesh Thakor said.
"As the Gujarat government handed over the case to the CBI, a CBI team will present him (Dixit Patel) before a designated court in Ahmedabad for his remand," Thakor said.
Patel is the sixth person arrested in this case in which the accused had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh each from at least 27 candidates to help them clear the test.
The other five persons, who were earlier arrested by the Panchmahal police, include Vadodara-based education consultant Parshuram Roy, school principal Jay Jalaram, Purushottam Sharma, school teacher Tushar Bhatt and alleged middlemen Vibhor Anand and Arif Vohra.
After taking over the investigation a week ago, the CBI had sought custody of four accused, except Roy. On Saturday, the Godhra district court remanded Sharma, Bhatt, Anand and Vohra to CBI custody till July 2.
A preliminary investigation by the CBI has found that the accused had asked candidates willing to adopt illegal means to obtain high scores in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET-Under Graduate) to opt for Jay Jalaram School as exam center.
Notably, last year's NEET exam at the same school had exposed a crucial vulnerability in which answer sheets were stored overnight, prompting the accused to devise a plan to tamper with optical mark recognition sheets ( OMR) during this period, the CBI had told the court.
According to the Gujarat Police, the accused allegedly asked the candidates not to try to ask a question if they did not know the answer.
Prima facie, Bhatt, a physics teacher, completed the correct answers in the exams while they were still in the school premises after the exam.
On Saturday, the CBI raided seven places in Gujarat, further intensifying its probe into alleged malpractices by NEETs. Last week, statements were recorded from six candidates who allegedly paid bribes, linking them to the accused.
On May 8, the Godhra police registered a case against Bhatt, Roy and Vohra for attempting to manipulate the NEET-UG process by extorting Rs 10 lakh from 27 candidates each. The authorities, who were warned about possible bad practices, intervened preventively in the school, preventing
irregularities.
Bhatt, appointed deputy superintendent of the examination at the school, was detained before the examination and Rs 7 lakh in cash was seized from him.
The investigation showed that Roy had allegedly convinced at least 27 of his students that he could help them pass the exam for Rs 10 lakh. In a subsequent raid, checks worth Rs 2.30 million were discovered in Roy's office.
Roy had allegedly asked his students to opt for the Godhra center so that Bhatt, Sharma and others could help them.
Of the 27 students who had paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three managed to pass the exam with a passing score, while the remaining 23 failed. Investigations continue as the CBI seeks to unravel the full extent of the negligence network.
With the arrest of Dixit Patel, owner of Jay Jalaram School situated near Godhra in Panchmahal district, the number of people arrested so far (five of them were detained by the Gujarat Police) has increased to six.
Jay Jalaram School was one of the designated centers where the NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 5.
Patel was arrested in the early hours of Sunday at his residence in Panchmahal district, prosecutor Rakesh Thakor said.
"As the Gujarat government handed over the case to the CBI, a CBI team will present him (Dixit Patel) before a designated court in Ahmedabad for his remand," Thakor said.
Patel is the sixth person arrested in this case in which the accused had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh each from at least 27 candidates to help them clear the test.
The other five persons, who were earlier arrested by the Panchmahal police, include Vadodara-based education consultant Parshuram Roy, school principal Jay Jalaram, Purushottam Sharma, school teacher Tushar Bhatt and alleged middlemen Vibhor Anand and Arif Vohra.
After taking over the investigation a week ago, the CBI had sought custody of four accused, except Roy. On Saturday, the Godhra district court remanded Sharma, Bhatt, Anand and Vohra to CBI custody till July 2.
A preliminary investigation by the CBI has found that the accused had asked candidates willing to adopt illegal means to obtain high scores in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET-Under Graduate) to opt for Jay Jalaram School as exam center.
Notably, last year's NEET exam at the same school had exposed a crucial vulnerability in which answer sheets were stored overnight, prompting the accused to devise a plan to tamper with optical mark recognition sheets ( OMR) during this period, the CBI had told the court.
According to the Gujarat Police, the accused allegedly asked the candidates not to try to ask a question if they did not know the answer.
Prima facie, Bhatt, a physics teacher, completed the correct answers in the exams while they were still in the school premises after the exam.
On Saturday, the CBI raided seven places in Gujarat, further intensifying its probe into alleged malpractices by NEETs. Last week, statements were recorded from six candidates who allegedly paid bribes, linking them to the accused.
On May 8, the Godhra police registered a case against Bhatt, Roy and Vohra for attempting to manipulate the NEET-UG process by extorting Rs 10 lakh from 27 candidates each. The authorities, who were warned about possible bad practices, intervened preventively in the school, preventing
irregularities.
Bhatt, appointed deputy superintendent of the examination at the school, was detained before the examination and Rs 7 lakh in cash was seized from him.
The investigation showed that Roy had allegedly convinced at least 27 of his students that he could help them pass the exam for Rs 10 lakh. In a subsequent raid, checks worth Rs 2.30 million were discovered in Roy's office.
Roy had allegedly asked his students to opt for the Godhra center so that Bhatt, Sharma and others could help them.
Of the 27 students who had paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three managed to pass the exam with a passing score, while the remaining 23 failed. Investigations continue as the CBI seeks to unravel the full extent of the negligence network.
