Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more persons for allegedly deceiving medical aspirants by falsely promising to manipulate their NEET UG 2025 scores in exchange of Rs 87.5 lakh.
According to sources, Sandeep Shah and Salim Patel, residents of Solapur and Navi Mumbai, respectively, defrauded candidates by claiming they had access to non-existent officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam.
The CBI is on the trail of a third suspect, who is absconding, understood to be the mastermind of the scam.
The case was registered on June 9 and investigation revealed that Shah allegedly held clandestine meetings with anxious parents at the upscale ITC Grand Central hotel in Mumbai’s Parel locality. The accused allegedly demanded Rs 90 lakh per candidate, later reducing the amount to Rs 87.5 lakh during negotiations for ensuring ranks in the merit. Additionally, he assured candidates that they would receive details of their purportedly increased marks six hours before the official declaration of results.
Shah was in contact with the co-accused, 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,” the CBI release said.
The accused was arrested in Mumbai on June 9 and the co-accused from Sangli district on June 10. “Both were produced before the Special CBI Court, Mumbai, which initially granted Police Custody Remand (PCR) until 13.06.2025, later extended until 16.06.2025,” it said.
The release further stated that 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,” it added.
