Medical student held in UP NEET racket

Shahid, who has reportedly appeared for his MBBS fourth-year final exam, allegedly took contracts to replace genuine NEET candidates with problem-solvers in exchange for large sums of money. The police said they have seized copies of 15 admit cards, four photos, four cargo courier receipts, and two phones containing incriminating chats.

Mehta is accused of convincing his sister to write the NEET exam for a candidate for Rs 5 lakh. Based on the interrogation of the four arrested, a few other members of the racket — which is allegedly active in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and a few other states — have been identified. The police have also put together separate teams to nab them.

On Sunday, the police arrested Julie and Babita from the exam centre after getting inputs. Another person with them, Vikas Kumar Mahto, escaped.

Varanasi Police Commissioner A Satish Ganesh told The Indian Express officials had discovered that the well-planned racket had two people, known by their aliases Bablu and PK, at its centre. “There is a supply side and a demand side. The demand side focuses on coaching centres and retrieves data on candidates who belong to well-off families and failed to clear the NEET exam in previous attempts. The supply side identifies bright candidates, who have recently cleared the exam, but are financially weak,” said Ganesh, adding that Shahid was acting as a bridge.