The Bihar Police uncovered a major cheating racket during the NEET UG 2026 re-examination in the state with the arrest of 30 people for allegedly helping candidates clear the medical entrance test through impersonation.
The arrests were made at three examination centres in the Lakhisarai district while another impersonator was arrested in Hajipur.
Those arrested include MBBS students, biometric supervisors, technical staff and middlemen. The case has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of security arrangements at examination centres despite the use of biometric verification, jammers and strict monitoring.
The first breakthrough occurred at the Hasanpur High School examination centre in Lakhisarai’s Kawaiya police station area after authorities received information that one person planned to take the examination for another candidate.
During verification, officials detained Mantosh Kumar, a resident of Madhepura and a fourth-year MBBS student at New Jalpaiguri Government Medical College. Police said he appeared in place of Sanjeet Kumar, a candidate from Nalanda district.
During questioning, Mantosh allegedly told investigators that Ravi alias Ravishankar alias Samrat, a student at Pawapuri Medical College, was coordinating the operation.
Police also arrested Sanjeet Kumar and his brother Ranjeet Kumar. Investigators suspect the gang may have been operating for a long time.
Another case of impersonation was detected at KRK High School examination centre in the same police station area. Authorities received information that a student sitting in Room No. 6 was appearing in the examination for another candidate.
The student was identified as Vivek Kumar, a fourth-year MBBS student of AN Magadh Medical College, Gaya. Police said he was taking the examination in place of a candidate named Prabhat Aman.
During questioning, Vivek allegedly named his associate Arpit Raj, who was waiting outside the examination centre. Police later arrested Arpit.
Investigators said the same person, Ravi alias Ravishankar alias Samrat, has emerged as the alleged mastermind in both cases.
A third case in Lakhisarai district was reported from the Kendriya Vidyalaya. Seven people were arrested from the centre.
Nine mobile phones were seized from the Hasanpur centre and 25 from the KRK centre. Investigators are examining the devices to identify other members of the network.
In a separate but similar case, police in Hajipur arrested another impersonator during the NEET re-examination. The fraud was detected during biometric verification at GA Inter School examination centre.
According to a complaint filed by Centre Superintendent Anjana Singh, candidate Ravi Ranjan Kumar initially cleared document verification and facial matching checks. However, after receiving an alert from the National Testing Agency (NTA), officials conducted a second biometric verification, which showed that the thumb impression did not match the registered records.
During questioning, the individual identified himself as Ram Bahadur Rai, 27, and admitted that he had appeared in the examination in place of the original candidate.
Police said the accused, a resident of Kaila Jalalpur village in Vaishali district, has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
Investigators are now trying to identify other members of the network and determine the financial transactions behind the alleged impersonation racket.