NEET scam probe reveals syndicate's pan-India operation
Rajkot: The investigation into the NEET
has revealed a pan-India racket. The syndicate targeted at least 30
in Maharashtra, Delhi, and Bihar, along with Gujarat, by promising to inflate their marks in exchange for hefty payments.On Friday, Rajkot city's Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) said that the gang was charging Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per student to manipulate the marks, and the scam thrived for the last two years.Earlier, the DCB arrested five people, including 44-year-old Vipul Teraiya, an education consultant, and Rajesh Pethani, owner of the Rajkot-based coaching institute Royal Academy.
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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.Three other accused - Teraiya's brother Prakash, who runs a consultancy in Surat; Manjeet Jain, a CBSE exam coordinator in Belagavi, Karnataka; and Dhaval Sanghvi from Udaipur - are still on the run.DCP (crime), Dr Parthraj Singh Gohil, said multiple teams were conducting searches across Ahmedabad, Rajasthan, and Belagavi to locate the trio. The scam is being orchestrated from Belagavi, and Vipul and Jain are the masterminds."So far, 30 students have been identified as victims, with the fraud spanning across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Delhi. Besides the NEET aspirant from Jetpur, two more students from Rajkot districts have fallen into their trap" Gohil said.The agency will record statements of the students to gather more evidence and details.Investigations are also ongoing to ascertain if any students benefited from this scheme and received artificially inflated scores. "If such cases are confirmed, the relevant exam authorities will be informed to ensure appropriate actions are taken," he added.According to the police complaint filed on May 5, 2025, by Tushar Vekariya, a 40-year-old resident of Jetpur, Rajkot, his son was among those who were promised better marks for a payment of Rs 30 lakh. However, despite handing over the money, the accused failed to deliver on their promise, leading to the filing of a cheating complaint.
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