NTA likely to withhold results of 16 candidates

VARANASI: The district police has shot a letter to the National Testing Agency (NTA) requesting it to withhold the results of 16 candidates who took the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET), following revelations that they were in touch with the solvers’ gang busted in September.
On September 12, four people, including a native of Bihar and a medico from KGMU Lucknow, were arrested for using unfair means to help candidates appearing for NEET.
Commissioner of police A Satish Ganesh said, “During the ongoing investigation, we detected that 25 aspirants were in touch with this gang. Of them, 16 appeared in NEET at different centres, while nine skipped... NTA director’s cooperation was sought in investigation and a report was sent to put the results of 16 candidate on hold till the investigation concludes.”
Heena Biswas of Tripura, for whom an impersonator Juli Kumari appeared in NEET exam here on September 12, is also among 16 aspirants, the CP said. Juli was arrested by police along with her mother Babita.
The CP said: “It has come to light that 25 aspirants from different districts of three states avoided filling forms for NEET from their own stations, while their fee was deposited through the bank account of one person. The investigators contacted NTA authorities to seek the attendance sheets. It was found that nine out of 25 skipped the exam. To ascertain whether actual aspirant appeared in NEET matching their fingerprints became a must. The report was sent to the director NTA.”
Investigators are also focusing on collection of sufficient evidence to foil the bid of getting anticipatory bail by the absconding accused, he said.
On September 12, crime branch sleuths had raided a NEET exam centre at St Francis Xavier School in Sona Talab area under the limits of Sarnath police station in afternoon session and caught Juli and her mother of Patna. Vikas, who accompanied Babita and Juli, managed to escape. An FIR was lodged under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document which he knows or has reason to believe to be a forged document)and 34 (criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention) of IPC against them with Sarnath police.
On September 14, the cops succeeded in nabbing KGMU medico Dr Osama Shahid and Abhay Kumar Mehta of this gang. Later, Vikas Kumar Mahto of Khagadia and Raju Kumar of Jahanabad in Bihar were also arrested but gang kingpin Neelesh Kumar alias PK alias Prem Kumar of Patna managed to escape when a team of Varanasi police raided his place on September 19.