NEET marks scam: Kingpin admits to accepting money from 13-14 medical aspirants
Rajkot: The NEET marks-for-money racket busted by Rajkot's Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) thrived for two years, with the prime accused,
Vipul Teraiya
, an education consultant, confessing to accepting money from parents of 13-14
medical aspirants
.
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On Wednesday, the DCB also arrested Rajesh Pethani, chairman of Rajkot-based coaching institute Royal Academy. Pethani, Vipul and three others were booked after it came to light that they fleeced a Jetpur-based man of Rs 30 lakh by promising to increase the 2024 NEET exam marks of his son.
Pethani and Vipul were remanded in five days of police custody by a local court.
Police have intensified the search for another mastermind Manjeet Jain, a CBSE exam coordinator in Belagavi, Karnataka; Dhaval Sanghvi; and Vipul's brother, Prakash Teraiya, who runs an education consultancy in Surat.
The complainant's son enrolled for NEET coaching in Pethani's academy. He was convinced by Pethani, who claimed to know some influential people capable of enhancing the marks. The amount was routed through Dhaval Sanghvi, who promised that his son would be allotted an exam centre in Belagavi. Vekariya's son eventually scored 460 marks, but no manipulation occurred. When he asked for a refund, the accused did not respond to his calls, prompting him to approach the police.
DCP (crime) Dr Parthrajsinh Gohil said, "We want to find out how many students, including the victim, were promised higher NEET scores in exchange for money, and how much money was collected from them. The probe will also explore how long the accused operated this nexus and whether more agents are involved," Gohil said.
DCB police inspector Mehul Gondaliya said Vipul confessed to accepting money from the parents of 13 to 14 students in exchange for illegally increasing their NEET scores.
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"Teraiya admitted that this malpractice has been ongoing for the past two years, and more people are involved in the nexus. Once the information is verified, statements from the concerned students and their parents will be recorded," Gondaliya said.
Police will also investigate the commission structure—how the money received per student was divided among the accused.
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