New Delhi: Police drawing close to NEET scam beneficiaries

New Delhi: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test,(NEET), 2016 may stand marred as 7 months after having collected evidence against 20 or 30 students, who its is alleged took help of their centre supervisors to cheat in the December 2016 test, the investigating officer has the government's go-ahead to take legal action against the scammers. The two centers where the tricksters have been game were Chandigarh and Greater Noida.

According to DCP (Crime Branch), Rajesh Deo notices are being sent to students under Section 160 of the CrPC, asking them to become part of the investigation. The probe, in the case, has begun and beneficiaries would be taken action against, the officer added. He refused to reveal details about the investigation any further.

An April Indian Express report mentioned servers having been hacked to help cheaters copy in the exam, and three arrests having followed.

Sources in the case reveal that having arrested the three - Abhishek Singh, Atul Vats and Hansul, who helped aid in cheating, the police succeeded in identifying a few 'beneficiaries,' as well. However, in the absence of direct evidence, those who benefitted could not be put behind; instead, supervisors of the centers were arrested, then, to get close to the trickster students.

"After arresting the supervisors and their subordinates, all students who benefited were identified and evidence against them was found. The Investigating Officer, posted with the central range unit of the Delhi Police Crime Branch, sent a request to his seniors in the Delhi Police Headquarters, seeking permission to take legal action against these applicants," police sources told Indian Express.

The evidence recovered by investigators include photos of questions sent by the aspirants- for outside help. The solved papers then were sent back to the center.

"Police have collected CCTV footage from both examination centers, and have found that some students were using their cell phones in the last 45 minutes of the exam — minutes after they received solved answers," police sources claimed, adding that the cheating aided in some of these students getting admission to some of the prominent medical colleges of the country.

"Students have been asked to join the probe and they will be confronted with all technical evidence, besides disclosures by the arrested persons," police sources said.

"The Chandigarh examination center in-charge Ankur Mishra, who has been arrested, hacked the examination server and shared a software with his associates, who also used it to hack the server. The CCTVs at the centers were switched off during the hacking," police said reports the Indian Express.