The accused offered to "upgrade" the NEET scores of students who failed to qualify, thereby enabling them to secure admission in government medical colleges — for a sum of ₹90 lakh.
Published Jun 24, 2025 | 8:52 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 24, 2025 | 8:54 AM
NEET. Representational Image. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: The CBI busted a NEET-UG 2025 marks manipulation racket allegedly involving a doctor based out of Solapur in Maharashtra and unnamed officials of the National Testing Agency.
The CBI busted a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2025 marks manipulation racket allegedly involving a doctor based out of Solapur in Maharashtra and unnamed officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
According to an official press note from the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Mumbai, a regular case was registered on 9 June after a sting operation confirmed a conspiracy to alter the NEET-UG scores of ineligible candidates in exchange for hefty bribes.
The accused, Dr Sandeep Jawahar Shah, a partner in a firm named Indi Biosearch, was reportedly running a parallel business of academic fraud. He also owns a dental prosthesis outfit called Ratnadeep Dental.
CBI sources said Shah had claimed links with NTA officials and offered to “upgrade” the NEET scores of students who failed to qualify, thereby enabling them to secure admission in government medical colleges — for a sum of ₹90 lakh.
The payment was to be made in two instalments, with manipulated marks promised six hours prior to the official NEET-UG 2025 result announcement.
Shah was caught during a verification exercise by CBI officers posing as parents, at the ITC Grand Central hotel in Parel, Mumbai, where he allegedly demanded ₹87.5 lakh after negotiation. Two independent witnesses were present during the operation.
The case has been registered under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and Section 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Shah and unnamed NTA officials.
This revelation comes barely a year after NEET-UG 2024 was marred by multiple controversies. The previous edition of the exam, held in May 2024, saw paper leak allegations in Patna and Gujarat, 67 students scoring perfect marks, some with “grace” marks awarded for time loss, an unprecedented early release of results, a Supreme Court-ordered retest for 1,563 students, revised results that dropped the number of toppers from 67 to 17.
Despite these issues, the Supreme Court had ruled that there was no large-scale scam in NEET 2024, although it acknowledged isolated irregularities involving around 155 students.
The Ministry of Education, facing massive backlash last year, had promised tighter systems and transparency. A committee led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan was constituted to recommend reforms for entrance exams.
“While last year’s irregularities were painted as procedural mishaps or technical lapses, the 2025 case suggests active collusion and criminal intent. The involvement of NTA insiders, if proven, could force a serious re-evaluation of the autonomous testing agency’s integrity,” the CBI release said.
The CBI said it has entrusted the case to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Sudhir Dhanda for further investigation and added that more arrests may follow as the probe expands into the alleged network of intermediaries and officials involved.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sumit Jha.)
