Bihar | A NEET twist
Proxy candidates at exam centres prove the 'solver' mafia is intact—and gaming biometrics
Only weeks after a paper leak forced a retest of the NEET exam for undergraduate medical courses, the arrest of nine ‘solvers’ in Bihar shows even the June 21 retake may have been compromised. The arrested include not just the ‘proxies’ and the original candidates, but 18 members of the biometric verification team. That shows examination fraud is evolving.
Only weeks after a paper leak forced a retest of the NEET exam for undergraduate medical courses, the arrest of nine ‘solvers’ in Bihar shows even the June 21 retake may have been compromised. The arrested include not just the ‘proxies’ and the original candidates, but 18 members of the biometric verification team. That shows examination fraud is evolving.
Only weeks after a paper leak forced a retest of the NEET exam for undergraduate medical courses, the arrest of nine ‘solvers’ in Bihar shows even the June 21 retake may have been compromised. The arrested include not just the ‘proxies’ and the original candidates, but 18 members of the biometric verification team. That shows examination fraud is evolving.
As a senior officer of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) described it to india today, the biometric team authenticated the credentials of the genuine candidate, who remained outside the exam hall. Then, the alleged impersonators entered with a forged Aadhaar and admit card on which the photograph had been altered while retaining the original biometrics. Aadhaar-linked verification, with biometrics, had of late become the tool of choice for authorities—in the belief that it guaranteed against proxies. In Bihar, the technology was not defeated—the people operating it were bought over. The EOU is now seeking details of the entity entrusted with the biometrics. The other dramatis personae are depressingly familiar—students or interns at medical colleges in Bihar and beyond, besides of nursing, pharma and Ayush. A single impersonation could earn the proxy Rs 10-15 lakh, while the middlemen arranging it charged candidates Rs 40-50 lakh.
The episode revives memories of the 2024 NEET paper leak that had led sleuths to an exam mafia operating out of Hazaribagh in neighbouring Jharkhand. From the looks of it, the malaise is far from cured.
