NEET impersonation: HC reserves orders on plea by students

NEET impersonation: HC reserves orders on plea by students

TNN | Sep 3, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Madurai: The Madras high court on Wednesday reserved orders on a plea moved by two students who were involved in NEET impersonation, seeking to return their original certificates for them to pursue their college education.

Justice R Pongiappan reserved the orders after the counsels for the petitioners sought to return the certificates on sympathetic grounds.

In one of the cases, the petitioner, a resident of Chennai had obtained a medical seat in Theni Government Medical College in 2019. The petitioner, who was arrayed as first accused was arrested and subsequently released on bail.

The petitioner moved the high court Madurai bench seeking to return his Class X and XII marksheets, transfer and community certificates to pursue an undergraduate course in an arts and science college in Chennai.

Similarly, another student who was arrested in connection with NEET impersonation also moved the HC seeking to return his certificates. During the previous hearing, the court had directed the registry to send a letter to the Theni judicial magistrate (JM) to ascertain as to whether any certificates were produced before the JM court by the Theni district CB-CID officials.

Impersonator hired by Chennai medical student wrote NEET in Bihar

TNN | Feb 27, 2020, 05.55 AM IST

CHENNAI: A second-year student of Madras Medical College, who was arrested along with his father on Wednesday in connection with the NEET scam, had used an impersonator who took the entrance exam at a centre in Bihar, investigators have found.

The student was expelled from the college last October, but could not be booked till now because of delay in establishing mismatch of fingerprints on the NEET answer sheet and other documents submitted to the college during admission.

Police said K Deivendran, 53, a businessman who hails from Hosur, had paid 20 lakh to a Bengaluru-based broker to arrange an impersonator for his son. The broker is yet to be apprehended.

Deivendran told police that he met the mediator in Bengaluru through a common friend. A police officer said, "Once we arrest the mediator we may be able to get to many impersonators who wrote NEET on behalf of students from Tamil Nadu," said a police officer.

According to a press release, police arrested Deivendran and his son (name withheld) after scrutinizing documents submitted by the student to the Madras Medical College and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A magistrate court in the city on Wednesday remanded them in judicial custody.

Police said the student enrolled in MMC in 2018 claiming that he had appeared for NEET at a centre in Gaya, Bihar, though he was born and brought up in Hosur. After the scrutiny found the papers suspicious, the college filed a police complaint which was forwarded to the CB-CID.

In October last year, news about a case of impersonation of a second year medical student in the Madras Medical College came up. College dean Dr R Jayanthi filed a police complaint at the Flower Bazaar police station, which was later transferred to CB-CID. There was so far no other complaint against anyone of the 2018 batch, said director of medical education Dr R Narayana Babu. Earlier he had asked all medical college deans to verify the credentials of first year students in MBBS and PG courses.

NEET scam: sleuths seek UIDAI assistance to track down suspects

CB-CID shares photos, biometric data for verification with Aadhaar database

13/02/2020, S. VIJAY KUMAR ,CHENNAI

The Crime Branch-CID of the Tamil Nadu police has written to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), seeking its assistance to track down those suspected of having acted as proxies in the sensational NEET scam.

Investigators have shared the photographs and biometrics of at least a dozen suspects with the UIDAI authorities for verification with the national Aadhaar database.

The suspects, booked on the charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and impersonation, were hired as proxies by candidates from Tamil Nadu to write the test on their behalf in different centres across the country.

The scam first surfaced in the Theni Medical College in Tamil Nadu, where the first case of a candidate clearing NEET with the help of a proxy who took the test on his behalf in north India was exposed. After the case was transferred to the CB-CID, more such cases were detected, and the agency had arrested 15 persons, including seven medicos and six parents. An investigation is on to apprehend the proxies who were hired to write the examination for these candidates at centres in other States.

Since the proxies are suspected to be undergraduate or postgraduate medicos, the agency has written to the Board of Governors of the National Medical Commission, requesting that the photographs of the suspects be shared with all medical colleges in the country for identification.

“We have written to the Director-General of Health Services to verify data in deemed universities. The details of proxies have also been shared with the Directors of Medical Education (DME) of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Rajasthan for posting the photographs of suspects on the notice boards in all medical colleges,” Superintendent of Police C. Vijaya Kumar told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Social media

After Director-General of Police M.S. Jaffar Sait held a review meeting with senior officials on the progress made in the case, investigators decided to write to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, seeking their assistance in identifying the suspects. “Since a majority of youth, particularly students, are active on social media, it is possible to identify the suspects if their photographs are shared with the administrators of such platforms,” he said.

Mr. Vijaya Kumar said the photographs/fingerprints of the proxies will not match with any records maintained by the National or State Crime Records Bureaux since they were not habitual offenders. “It has been almost three months since we wrote to the Central and State health authorities. Special teams are closely coordinating with these officials, and a breakthrough is expected soon. The possibility of a similar scam in NEET in other parts of the country cannot be ruled out,” he said. The CB-CID, which is currently focusing on the NEET scam in MBBS admissions, will soon start probing allegations of similar irregularities in postgraduate admissions, sources in the agency said.

Photos of suspected Neet impersonators released

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12.02.2020

The CB-CID on Monday released the photographsof thesuspectsin theNeet impersonation scam and sought the help of the public in identifying them. These suspects wrote the exam on behalf of medical aspirantsfrom Tamil Nadu and illegally helped them get admission into medical colleges in the state, said a press release.

Any information about these suspects may be communicatedtotheCBCID,Chennai on 9443884395, the release said, adding that alltheinformation will be kept confidential. The photographs of the suspected impersonators are also being pasted in places like bus stops and commercial establishments and will be shared on social media platforms.

In December 2019, the Medical Council of India asked medical colleges cross the country to display names and photographs of nine postgraduate and undergraduate medicalstudentswhohadwritten Neet 2019 on behalf of medical aspirants from Tamil Nadu.

Following a request from C Vijayakumar, Crime Branch-CID superintendent of police (south zone), the board of governors of MCI has asked deans of all medical colleges to match these pictures with their students’ data and display these photographs on noticeboards. Since the CB-CID officers were not able to identify them,they wantedtoseeif professorsor studentscan provide them with clues. In September, an inquiry by the government medical college in Theni, based on an email, revealed that photosof a first year studentin the college application and the Neet-2019 scorecard did not match. Investigation led to arrest of four more students, their parents and three agents.

Police have released photos of 10 suspects believed to be part of the Neet impersonation racket and have asked the public to come forward with information if any

Photos of NEET impersonators sent to MCI for verification

So far, CB-CID has arrested 12, including seven students and their parents

27/12/2019, SERENA JOSEPHINE M.,CHENNAI

Photographs of candidates, who were engaged as impersonators in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), have been sent to the Medical Council of India (MCI) to verify if they were students of any medical college in the country.

In September this year, the case of a student gaining admission to MBBS at the Government Theni Medical College by engaging an impersonator to clear NEET marked the beginning of a scam in the State. So far, the CB-CID, which is probing the NEET impersonation case, have arrested 12 persons — seven students and their parents. An intermediary (broker) was also arrested, while they are on the lookout for another intermediary, official sources said.

“The CB-CID police have sent a letter along with photographs of candidates, who impersonated in NEET, to MCI. Except for their photographs, we have no names and addresses of these candidates. So, the MCI should verify if these candidates are studying in undergraduate or postgraduate medical courses in any medical college in the country. This is because these candidates have cleared NEET,” an official said. MCI has to send these photographs to colleges to identify if these students were studying at the institutions.

The focus has turned on the impersonators as the police have nabbed almost all students and their parents involved in the case, he said. Most of the impersonators had appeared for the examination in NEET centres outside Tamil Nadu.

PG NEET list

In another development, the CB-CID has sought a list of candidates, who had appeared for NEET PG in the last two years from the Directorate of Medical Education. While the directorate is preparing the list, officials said the police as of now did not suspect impersonation. “The list was sought from the investigation point of view,” the official said.

நீட்' ஆள் மாறாட்ட நபர்களின் படம் மருத்துவ கல்லுாரிகளில் ஒட்ட உத்தரவு

Added : டிச 12, 2019 22:59

கோவை: 'நீட்' தேர்வு ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில், தேர்வு எழுதிய நபர்களின் புகைப்படங்களை, மருத்துவ கல்லுாரி, 'நோட்டீஸ்' போர்ட்டில் ஒட்ட உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

20 லட்சம் ரூபாய்

தமிழகத்தில், 'நீட்' தேர்வின் போது ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டது தொடர்பாக, ஒரு மாணவி உட்பட ஐந்து மாணவர்கள் கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர். இவர்களின் பெற்றோர் மற்றும் புரோக்கர்களும் சிக்கினர்.விசாரணையில், ஆள்மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டு, கல்லுாரியில் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்கள், தங்களுக்கு பதிலாக தேர்வு எழுதிய நபர்களுக்கு, 20 லட்சம் ரூபாய் வரை கொடுத்தது கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. தேர்வு எழுதியவர்கள், பல்வேறு மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரியில் படிக்கும் மாணவர்கள் தான் என்பதும் தெரிந்தது. ஆனால், இவர்களின் முகவரி, போன் எண் போன்ற விபரங்கள் எதுவும் கிடைக்கவில்லை. இவர்களை கண்டறிவதில், குழப்பம் நீடித்து வருகிறது.

இதையடுத்து, ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்ட நபர்களின் பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படங்களை, நாடு முழுவதும் உள்ள மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரிகளில் ஒட்ட, சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி., - எஸ்.பி., விஜயகுமார், இந்திய மருத்துவ கவுன்சிலிடம் கோரிக்கை வைத்தார். போலீஸ் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறியதாவது:ஆள் மாறாட்டத்துக்கு முதுநிலை மருத்துவம் மற்றும் இளநிலை மருத்துவம் படிக்கும் மாணவர்கள் உதவி செய்தது, விசாரணையில் தெரிய வந்துள்ளது.

கோரிக்கை

இவர்கள் தேர்வு எழுதிய, 'ஹால் டிக்கெட்டில்' பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படம் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளது.அந்தப் பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படங்களை, நாடு முழுவதுமுள்ள மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரி நோட்டீஸ் போர்டுகளில் ஒட்ட கோரிக்கை வைக்கப்பட்டது. இதன்மூலம், இதர மாணவர்கள் மற்றும் பேராசிரியர்கள், அவர்களை அடையாளம் காண முடியும். இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறினார்.

நீட்' தேர்வு ஆள் மாறாட்ட வழக்கில் மேலும் இரு மாணவருக்கு தொடர்பு

Added : டிச 08, 2019 00:12

தேனி: 'நீட்' தேர்வு ஆள்மாறாட்ட வழக்கில் சிக்கிய, இரு புரோக்கர்களிடம் நடத்திய விசாரணையில், மேலும், இரு மாணவர்களுக்கு தொடர்பு இருப்பது, தெரிய வந்துள்ளது.

'நீட்' தேர்வில் ஆள்மாறாட்டம் செய்து, அரசு மற்றும் தனியார் மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரிகளில், எம்.பி.பி.எஸ்., முதலாமாண்டில் சேர்ந்ததாக, தேனி மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரி மாணவர் உதித்சூர்யா, மாணவி பிரியங்கா உட்பட, ஐந்து மாணவர்கள், அவர்களின் பெற்றோர் என, 10 பேர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர்.ஐந்து மாணவர்கள் உட்பட, ஒன்பது பேர் ஜாமின் பெற்றனர். மாணவி பிரியங்காவின் தாய் மைனாவதி, சிறையில் உள்ளார்.

இந்நிலையில், நேற்று முன்தினம், புரோக்கர்கள் முருகன், விஸ்வநாதன் ஆகியோரை, பெங்கரூருவில் பிடித்த, சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி., போலீசார், அவர்ளை தேனி அழைத்து வந்து விசாரிக்கின்றனர். முக்கிய புரோக்கர் ரஷீத், தலைமறைவாக உள்ளார். போலீசார் கூறியதாவது:ரஷீத்தின் மனைவி ஹீனாகவுஸ், எல்.ஐ.சி., ஏஜன்ட். அவரது நண்பர் முருகன். அபிராமி என்ற மாணவியை, மருத்துவப்படிப்பில் சேர்க்க, முருகன் மூலம், ரஷீத்தின் உதவியை நாடி, பணம் கைமாறி, ஆள்மாறாட்டம் நடந்துள்ளது.

அபிராமியின் தந்தை மாதவனின் உடல்நிலை கருதி, விசாரணை முடித்து, நிபந்தனைகளுடன் அனுப்பி வைத்தோம். தேவைப்பட்டால், அதில் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும். பிரியங்காவிற்கு, விஸ்வநாதன் உதவியுடன், முருகன் மூலம், ரஷீத்திடம் பணம் தரப்பட்டுள்ளது. இரு புரோக்கர்கள் அளித்த தகவலில், நீட் தேர்வு ஆள்மாறாட்டத்தில், மேலும் இரு மாணவர்களுக்கு தொடர்பு இருப்பது, தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. அவர்களுக்கும், 'சம்மன்' அனுப்ப உள்ளோம்.விரைவில் ரஷீத், அவரின் மனைவி, மற்றொரு புரோக்கர் வேதாசலத்தை கைது செய்வோம்.இவ்வாறு, அவர்கள் கூறினர்.

Neet scam: Two more detained

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 08.12.2019

CB-CID sleuths have detained two people including an LIC agent in connection with the Neet impersonation scam.

Dharmapuri-based LIC agent Murugan and his friend Viswanath, who were nabbed from a hideout in Bengaluru during the search for agent Mohammad Rafi, have been detained in Theni for questioning, police said.

Inquiries revealed that Murugan had helped one MBBS aspirant get admission to a medical college, engaging an impersonator to write Neet on her behalf. The CB-CID had arrested the girl’s mother earlier.

Since the Neet impersonation scam was busted on September 26, the CB-CID arrested at least six parents of MBBS students, five students and two agents so far. One of the students was recently granted anticipatory bail.

Investigation of the sensational case found at least 19 instances where students admitted to medical college were different from those who appeared for Neet. Officers from CBCID, who are investigating the case, said that some of the students had appointed more than one person to write the test from different centres on their behalf. “They used the mark sheet with the highest score for admission,” said a senior police officer. Police booked them under the IPC Sections 120 (B) (conspiracy), 419 (punishment forcheating), 420 (cheating).

Old students grab 70% MBBS seats in Tamil Nadu

TNN | Oct 17, 2019, 05.56 AM IST

In a span of three years, the number of old students joining MBBS in Tamil Nadu has increased from 12% to 70%, after introduction of NEET. If the trend continues, the percentage of old students may touch 90% in the future.

The trend emerged from admission data provided by Directorate of Medical Education. The numbers, obtained through RTI, reveal that around 70% of students joining medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in 2019 were not straight out of school (seniors or repeaters) and had spent a few years preparing for the exam.



Of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS this year in the state, 2,916 were old students. While two students from the 2010 (Class XII) batch joined medical colleges, 2,371 from the 2018 batch have got admitted. Among 2,762 state board students who joined medical colleges, 2,402 students (87%) were repeaters. Of 1,368 CBSE students, 482 (35%) were old students.

In 2016, when admissions were last conducted based on Class XII marks, only 450 repeaters (12%) had joined the MBBS course. The huge number of repeaters joining MBBS courses points to the effect of an ever-growing NEET coaching industry.

According to sources, over 10,000 training centres, both formal and informal, have mushroomed all over the state in last three years, turning ‘NEET coaching’ into a Rs500 crore industry.

“NEET gives an advantage to old students as current students have to prepare both for board exams and common medical entrance,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

He said the National Testing Agency should fix an upper age limit and cap number of attempts. “The syllabus for NEET also needs to be updated every three years to avoid giving undue advantage to old students,” he said.

At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make for NEET.

“It is becoming a trend that students need to spend one year extra for coaching to get MBBS seats. It takes time for students to change from board exam mode to competitive exam mode,” said Dr Prasad Manne, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.

With more number of high scorers, the cutoff for the exam this year has shot up by 80 to 100 marks.

“With repeated practice and learning, a student with 300 marks last year is able to get 500 marks in his second attempt,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools.

Med news

Impersonation in NEET: 2018 student of MMC under lens

Pushpa Narayan & A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai:

Madras Medical College (MMC) has reported to the city police a case of suspected impersonation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) by one of its students of the 2018 batch.

The latest case — reported after the MBBS selection committee found the photograph of the student in the NEET admit card and the MMC records to be different — has strengthened the suspicion that impersonation has been happening in the previous years too, though the first complaint of NEET impersonation was filed against a 2019-batch student of Theni Medical College on September 18.

Last week, directorate of medical education, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and MMC received a complaint alleging that a candidate who joined the college in 2018 may have resorted to impersonation. Director of medical education Dr R Narayana Babu forwarded the complaint to MMC and the selection committee for inquiry. Selection committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan, who verified the documents, reported to the DME about the photo mismatch.

MMC dean files police complaint

Dr Narayana Babu said, “His document shows he has written NEET from a centre in Bihar, though he was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu.” “We have reasons to believe that impersonation cases may have happened in the previous years as well,” he added.

The DME directed MMC dean Dr R Jayanthi to file a police complaint. “We have given a complaint with all the relevant documents,” she said. Dr Jayanthi refused to reveal details about the student. MMC college professors said the student had not cleared his first-year MBBS papers. “We held special coaching sessions to help him, but he never seemed to get a grasp. We always wondered why such a meritorious student was finding it difficult,” said a professor.

Meanwhile, the CB-CID has arrested a Salembased agent, Saravanan, 45, who is suspected to have helped students find impersonators to write the test. Police said Saravanan introduced students and parents to brokers Mohammad Rafi and Vedhachalam who in turn engaged impersonators to write NEET examinations on behalf of TN candidates, in other cities . Police said Saravanan knew Dr Venkatesan, who was earlier working in Salem.

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH TO ACE NEET IN STATE

Repeaters Grab 3 Out Of 4 Seats In MBBS Courses, Pointing To The Influence Of Coaching In Acing Medical Entrance

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com 17.10.2019

In a span of three years, the number of old students joining MBBS in Tamil Nadu has increased from 12% to 70%, after introduction of NEET. If the trend continues, the percentage of old students may touch 90% in the future.

The trend emerged from admission data provided by Directorate of Medical Education. The numbers, obtained through RTI, reveal that around 70% of students joining medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in 2019 were not straight out of school (seniors or repeaters) and had spent a few years preparing for the exam.

Of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS this year in the state, 2,916 were old students. While two students from the 2010 (Class XII) batch joined medical colleges, 2,371 from the 2018 batch have got admitted. Among 2,762 state board students who joined medical colleges, 2,402 students (87%) were repeaters. Of 1,368 CBSE students, 482 (35%) were old students.

In 2016, when admissions were last conducted based on Class XII marks, only 450 repeaters (12%) had joined the MBBS course. The huge number of repeaters joining MBBS courses points to the effect of an ever-growing NEET coaching industry.

According to sources, over 10,000 training centres, both formal and informal, have mushroomed all over the state in last three years, turning ‘NEET coaching’ into a Rs500 crore industry.

“NEET gives an advantage to old students as current students have to prepare both for board exams and common medical entrance,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

He said the National Testing Agency should fix an upper age limit and cap number of attempts. “The syllabus for NEET also needs to be updated every three years to avoid giving undue advantage to old students,” he said.

At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make for NEET.

“It is becoming a trend that students need to spend one year extra for coaching to get MBBS seats. It takes time for students to change from board exam mode to competitive exam mode,” said Dr Prasad Manne, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.

With more number of high scorers, the cutoff for the exam this year has shot up by 80 to 100 marks.

“With repeated practice and learning, a student with 300 marks last year is able to get 500 marks in his second attempt,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools.

The percentage of old students will increase in the coming years, he said. “The percentage of current batch students may go below 10% in a year or two.”

Fewer govt school students get through

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 17.10.2019

Government school students are not cracking NEET and bagging medical seats as much as they did three years ago.

From 34 students in 2016, the number of government school students joining medical colleges has plummeted to 2 this year. On the flipside, the number of CBSE students has risen from 35 in 2016 to 1,368 in 2019.

NEET was made mandatory for MBBS admissions in Tamil Nadu from 2017. Prior to that, admissions to medical colleges in Tamil Nadu were based on marks obtained in Class XII.

“Even the two students who cracked NEET were repeaters and not current batch students,” a source said.

After introduction of NEET for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu, only seven students from government schools joined MBBS in 2017, while five joined in 2018, according to the Directorate of Medical Education. So far, only 14 students from government schools have aced NEET in last three years.

“Unless there is a separate quota for government school students, they cannot enter into the medical colleges,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

Some teachers believed that the NCERT syllabus-based NEET lends an unfair advantage to CBSE students. “Many state board students have not even seen NCERT books from which questions are asked in NEET,” a teacher said.

“There is a big gap in coaching facilities for government school students and those from other boards,” said P B Prince Gajendrababu of State Platform for Common School System, on prospects of government students cracking NEET.

Last year, 19,355 students were coached at state-run coaching centres.

Two medicos, their fathers seek bail

05/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,THENI

Two medical students, Rahul and Praveen, and their parents Davis and A.K.S. Saravanan, who have been figuring in the NEET impersonation case have filed bail applications before a fast track court, as the Judicial Magistrate was on leave on Friday.

In connection with the case, seven persons have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Udit Surya’s anticipatory bail application filed in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court was treated as a bail application, and the court wanted to know from the CB-CID if the continued detention of the student was required. The hearing was adjourned to October 14.

On the hunt

CB-CID sleuths are on the hunt for suspected agents based in Bengaluru and Kerala, who had allegedly facilitated impersonators for the students, after taking large sums of money from them.

NEET illegalities may not be confined to T.N., suspects HC

Court impleads NTA, MHRD and Union Health Ministry as parties to case

05/10/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Unable to fathom why the National Testing Agency (NTA) failed to put in place an effective system to prevent illegalities such as impersonation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the Madras High Court on Friday suspected that the illegality of clearing the test through proxies would have happened across the country and not just in Tamil Nadu. In the State so far, five students and their parents are under scrutiny.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and P. Velmurugan suo motu impleaded the NTA, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as respondents to a writ appeal and sought to know whether such impersonation in NEET had happened in any other State.

When Abdul Saleem, standing counsel for the Selection Committee in the Directorate of Medical Education, pointed out that so far, two MBBS students in the State had been found to have gained admission in government medical colleges apart from three more, who had joined private colleges, the judges said there appeared to be more than what meets the eye.

“These things could not have happened without the active connivance of the government as well as college officials. How could you not have a system in place for verifying the credentials of those who had applied for the test and those who come to write it? ,” the senior judge in the Bench said.

He recalled that it was to avoid such malpractices he had been persuading the authorities to insist upon submission of Aadhaar card details. “If you had verified the details through Aadhaar, such impersonation would not have happened and so many medical seats would not have gone waste and given away in a platter to undeserving candidates,” the judge said.

He added that at least in the future a reliable monitoring mechanism should be put in place. Replying to it, Mr. Saleem said, the NTA was contemplating the possibility of obtaining finger prints of the candidates to avoid such impersonations in the future.

The Division Bench directed the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) probing the NEET impersonation cases in the State to submit by October 15 a detailed report on the probe conducted so far.

The judges wanted to know the number of students and parents involved in the issue, the amount of money that had been transacted for such impersonation, the details of the agents as well as government and college officials involved in the offence.

The interim order was passed after impleading the CB-CID too as one of the respondents to a writ appeal relating to alleged irregularities in filling up non-resident Indian (NRI) quota seats in private medical colleges.

HC seeks Centre’s report on NEET impersonation racket

‘Scam Not Possible Without Help Of Officials’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:05.10.2019

Madras high court has impleaded the central government in the ongoing NEET impersonation scam, saying the issue is not confined to Tamil Nadu alone. Asserting that NEET impersonation could not have been possible without the involvement of officials, the court directed the CB-CID to provide details as to the involvement of government or college officials in the scam.

“Prima facie, it is clear that without the cooperation of any person, it is impossible for a student to make another person write his exam. Therefore, the CB-CID shall give details of the number of students who gained admission by fraudulent methods, how many persons helped them during malpractice, and whether government officials or the college administration is also involved in this fraud,” a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice P Velmurugan said.

The bench passed the interim order on the plea moved by S Dheeran of Coimbatore seeking direction to the state government to undertake proper counselling and mop-up procedure to fill up 207 management quota seats that have become available owing to non-filling of NRI quota seats.

In a recent order, the court directed 10 private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu to submit details of admissions made under the non-resident Indian (NRI) quota.

When the plea came up for further hearing on Friday, the court was informed that three more private colleges — KMCH Medical College, Coimbatore, Muthukumaran Medical College, Chennai, and Madha Medical College & Hospital, Chennai – have to be impleaded.

Recording the same, the bench suo motu impleaded the three colleges and directed them to file details of students admitted under the NRI quota and the procedure followed by October 15.

This apart, counsel Abdul Saleem representing the selection committee informed the court that two more students have been found to be impersonated and got admission in government medical college and three others had got admission in deemed universities and that CB-CID is investigating the cases.

To this, the bench noted that the fraud should have spread all over India and more students should have got seats by impersonation or duplication by playing fraud throughout the country.

The court then suo motu impleaded Union ministry of human resource development, national testing agency, Tamil Nadu’s health department and the DGP as party respondents and directed them to file details as to the procedures followed while allowing the students to enter into the examination hall and the procedures followed by the selection committee while admitting the students into the hall and whether any communication takes place in the exam hall.

The bench of the Madras high court noted that the fraud should have spread all over India and more students should have got seats by impersonation or duplication by playing fraud throughout the country

Times INVESTIGATION

2 TN students used imposters to write NEET in Delhi, UP
Candidates Filed Two Applications; Also Wrote In TN

Pushpa Narayan & A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai:05.10.2019

MBBS students S Praveen and Raghul Davis, who were arrested by the Tamil Nadu CB-CID last week on charges of impersonation, forgery and conspiracy in NEET 2019 and MBBS admission had used dual applications and imposters, a TOI investigation has found.

Praveen from Arumbakkam wrote NEET 2019 from St Peter’s Institute of Higher Education and Research at Avadi in Chennai, while his imposter took the test at Bal Bharati Public School in Pitampura, Delhi. Praveen scored 130 marks (134 needed to clear the exam) out of 720, while the imposter scored 348. Raghul Davis, who wrote his NEET from Tamil Nadu College of Engineering in Karumathampatti in Coimbatore got 125 out of 720 marks, while his imposter, who wrote the entrance from Swarnim Public School, Rajajipuram, Lucknow, got 306.

Documents in TOI’s possession show that both the students appeared for NEET under the unreserved category, while their imposters appeared as OBC candidates. With the imposters’ scores, they applied to the New Delhibased Medical Counselling Committee for seats in deemed universities.

At least four students had used different methods to cheat the system to get into medical colleges.

Fraud began at application stage

Praveen, who was ranked 1,88,837, was allotted a seat in SRM Medical College and Hospital in Kattankulathur and Raghul, ranked 2,48,832, was placed in Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital in Chromepet (TOI has copies of their NEET hall tickets, score cards and admission details). Praveen and Raghul joined the respective colleges on July 19. Last week, Praveen and his father A K S Saravanan, and Raghul and his father C A David were arrested by the CB-CID police.

In the past month, the Tamil Nadu police have arrested at least four students who used different methods to cheat the system to get into medical colleges. Inquiries by the Directorate of Medical Education and police revealed that while K V Udit Surya admitted to Theni Government Medical College never took NEET, Mohammed Irfan from Dharmapuri Government Medical College had changed his scores from 207 to 407.

In case of Raghul and Praveen, documents reveal that the fraud began at the application stage. For instance, admit cards issued by the National Testing Agency to S Praveen born on July 27, 1998 shows his father’s name as S Saravanan, while his imposter who wrote the exam with the same name and date of birth declared his father’s name as A K S Saravanan. The NEET score card shows his mother’s name as ShobaSaravanan (no space between names) for one candidate and S Shoba for the other. While one address was given as 61/46 Arumbakkam, Razack Garden Main Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 106, another read 46, SR Raza Garden, Arumbakkam (Near Vasanthi Hospital), Chennai, Tamil Nadu-106.

Raghul too used similar tricks to cheat the system. While his name and date of birth remain the same in the NEET admit cards, his father’s name was entered as C A Davis and Davis CA. While one score card shows Nancy Davis as his mother’s name, there was no space between the given name and surname in the next card.

Dharmapuri college suspends student

03/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,DHARMAPURI

The Government Dharmapuri Medical College has suspended Mohammad Irfan, a first-year MBBS student hailing from Vaniyambadi, who is under investigation for a suspected act of impersonation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.

Dr. Srinivasa Raju, dean of Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital, told The Hindu that the Directorate of Medical Education had recommended the suspension of the student on September 30, and the letter giving effect to the same was prepared the same day. “But since I was summoned to Theni by the CB-CID for deposition, the letter could not be sent on Tuesday. It will be sent on Thursday,” the dean said.

Irfan was among the 100 students admitted to the Dharmapuri Medical College through NEET this year. He went on medical leave on September 8, and did not return until Tuesday, when he surrendered before a court in Salem. On September 23, the medical college started verifying the bona fides of the students in the wake of the impersonation scam.

Irfan’s documents could not be verified due to his absence.

Key suspect in NEET case is in Karnataka, says CB-CID
Credentials of medico’s parent come under scanner

03/10/2019,L SRIKRISHNATHENI

The key suspect in the NEET impersonation case, the investigation into which has expanded beyond Tamil Nadu’s borders, is in Karnataka, CB-CID officers said on Monday.

The suspect had a “strong base” for his network in Kerala (through which potential students were lured into the scam), an officer said.

The NEET impersonation case came to the fore after a whistleblower alerted the Directorate of Medical Education that a first-year MBBS student of the Government Theni Medical College, identified as Udit Surya, had cleared the NEET through a proxy candidate in Mumbai. So far, in addition to a couple of mediators, including one from Kerala, three students and their fathers have been arrested in connection with the case.

Explaining the modus operandi, an officer said that in one instance, a student had hired impersonators and made them write the NEET in two different locations. In another case, a student managed to gain admission in a medical college using fake NEET score cards through brokers.

In a related development, an officer told The Hindu that Mohammed Shafi, whose son Mohammed Irfan allegedly joined the Dharmapuri Government Medical College by clearing NEET through an impersonator, may not be a qualified doctor, as claimed by him. The investigation had revealed that Mr. Shafi pursued MBBS at a college in Karnataka in the early 90s, but did not complete his degree. However, he was running a clinic in Vaniyambadi in Vellore district with the aid of some medical practitioners. “This is still under investigation,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, Tirupattur resident Jayaraman, who was picked up by the CB-CID in connection with the case based on Mr. Shafi’s alleged confession, denied any direct involvement in the case. “I had only shared with Shafi some names of brokers in Bengaluru and Kerala,” he had told the investigators. A team was likely to bring those suspects here, the police said.

டீனுக்கு கொலை மிரட்டல்: பாதுகாப்பு கேட்டு மனு

Added : செப் 29, 2019 05:57


தேனி: 'நீட்' தேர்வு ஆள் மாறாட்ட பிரச்னையில் கொலைமிரட்டல் வருவதால் போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்பு வேண்டும்' என தேனி மருத்துவக்கல்லுாரி முதல்வர் ராஜேந்திரன் மனு அளித்துள்ளார்.அதில், 'நீட் ஆள்மாறாட்ட புகார் விசாரணை, கைது போன்ற சம்பவங்கள் நடக்கின்றன. இதனால் எனக்கும், குடும்பத்திற்கும் பாதுகாப்பு இல்லாத நிலை உருவாகி உள்ளது. கொலை மிரட்டல் வருகிறது. போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்பு வழங்க வேண்டும்' என தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.பாதுகாப்பு கோருவதற்கான முகாந்திரம், எந்த வகையில் அச்சுறுத்தல் மற்றும் கொலை மிரட்டல் வந்தது, அதற்கான ஆதாரங்கள் குறித்து போலீசார் விசாரித்தனர்.

என்.டி.ஏ.வுக்கு கடிதம் விபரம் கேட்கிறது சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி.

Added : செப் 28, 2019 23:38

தேனி, :தமிழகத்தில் இருந்து ஒரே பெயர், முகவரியில் 'நீட்' தேர்வு எழுதியோர் விபரத்தை கேட்டு தேசிய தேர்வு முகமைக்கு (என்.டி.ஏ.) சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி. கடிதம் அனுப்பியுள்ளது.சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி., போலீசார் வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கை:'நீட் ' ஆள்மாறாட்ட வழக்கின் முதல்கட்ட விசாரணையில் உதித்சூர்யா, தந்தை டாக்டர் வெங்கடேசன், எஸ்.ஆர்.எம். மருத்துவக்கல்லுாரியில் சேர்ந்த பிரவின், தந்தை சரவணன் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளனர். பிற கல்லுாரியில் மோசடியாக 'சீட்' பெற்றதாக கூறப்படும் ராகுல், அபிராமி, பெற்றோரிடம் விசாரணை நடக்கிறது.தமிழகத்தில் உள்ள அனைத்து 'நீட்' பயிற்சி மையங்களுக்கும் கடிதம் அனுப்பப்பட்டு, அங்கிருந்து தேர்வு பெற்றவர்களின் விபரம் கோரப்பட்டுள்ளது. தமிழகத்தில் இருந்து விண்ணப்பித்தவர்களில் ஒரே பெயர், முகவரியில் ஒன்றுக்கு மேற்பட்ட தேர்வு மையங்களில் தேர்வு எழுதிய மாணவர்களின் விபரம் கேட்டு 'நீட்' தேர்வை நடத்தும் உத்தரபிரதேச மாநிலம் நொய்டாவில் உள்ள தேசிய தேர்வு முகமைக்கு கடிதம் அனுப்பப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவ்வாறு அதில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.