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The CBI arrested two men from Maharashtra for allegedly deceiving NEET UG 2025 aspirants and their families by claiming they could manipulate scores, and charging ₹90 lakh per candidate, officials said on Saturday (June 14, 2025).
Sandeep Shah and Salim Patel, residents of Solapur and Navi Mumbai, respectively, allegedly hoodwinked candidates by posing as middlemen with access to non-existent officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The CBI is on the trail of a third suspect, who is absconding, understood to be the mastermind of the scam.
They allegedly demanded up to ₹90 lakh per candidate, later reducing the amount to ₹87.5 lakh during negotiations for ensuring ranks in the merit, the police said.
Mr. Shah allegedly held clandestine meetings with anxious parents at the upscale ITC Grand Central hotel in Mumbai’s Parel locality.
During these meetings, he allegedly assured clients that their children’s scores could be inflated and that the revised marks would be disclosed a full six hours before the official announcement of results.
The CBI investigation showed that Mr. Shah was in touch with Mr. Patel, who operates an admission consultancy firm in Navi Mumbai, and another individual who runs a similar consultancy in Pune.
“A forensic examination of the mobile phones of the arrested individuals uncovered incriminating chats containing details of prospective candidates, their roll numbers, admit cards, OMR sheets, and evidence of financial transactions through Hawala networks,” a CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.
Both were presented before a special court earlier this week which sent them to CBI custody till June 16.
“The investigation has not found any involvement of government officials or NTA personnel with the accused persons in the case. The accused misled parents by falsely claiming connections with NTA officials,” the spokesperson added.
Authorities believe the accused cynically misled parents by fabricating connections with examination authorities to give credence to their elaborate scheme.
Published – June 14, 2025 04:40 pm IST
