Three days after the NEET-UG exam on May 5, the accused instructed students to leave blank answers for questions they did not know on the sheet.
In all 30 students at the Godhra centre are suspected to have been part of the fraud.
Patel runs two schools, one in Godhra district and Jay Jalaram International School at Thermal village in Kheda district.
Jay Jalaram School has also been charged with taking excessive fees from students.
These cheques belonged to parents whose children had appeared for NEET-UG exams at Jalaram School.
Ahmedabad : On June 30, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dixit Patel, the chairman of Jay Jalaram Trust, which runs Jay Jalaram School located at Paravadi near Godhra of Gujarat, in connection with the irregularities in this year’s National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA). Three days after the NEET-UG exam on May 5, the accused instructed students to leave blank answers for questions they did not know on the sheet. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Prior to CBI taking over investigation of the case on June 23, Gujarat police had arrested five individuals: Tushar Bhatt, a physics teacher; Purushottam Sharma, principal of Jay Jalaram School; Parshuram Roy of Roy Overseas, an education consultancy firm; Vibhor Anand, who introduced students to Roy; and Arif Vora, a local resident implicated as Bhatt’s accomplice.
According to an FIR filed at the Godhra Taluka Police Station on May 8, 2024, three days after the NEET-UG exam on May 5, the accused instructed students to leave blank answers for questions they did not know on the sheet. The accused, who were paid between ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per candidate, would later fill in these answers after the exams. In all 30 students at the Godhra centre are suspected to have been part of the fraud.
According to the plan which could not be executed because of prompt action, the accused intended to exploit the 30-45 minute gap before the courier arrived to collect the papers in a sealed cover. Answers for NEET would be available a few minutes after the exam ended, posted by many coaching centres on their websites. The accused, including Bhatt, were to then mark the correct answers for students who had paid them.
Patel runs two schools, one in Godhra district and Jay Jalaram International School at Thermal village in Kheda district. He also ran a school in Anand district but shut it down.
Parimal Pathak, advocate for Patel, stated that his client “is not an employee but is part of the management and was not present at the school premises when the exam was being conducted.” He explained that the NTA chose Jay Jalaram school as its centre for NEET-UG due to its unique infrastructure in the area. The advocate also clarified that Bhatt, one of the main accused, “is not an employee of Jay Jalaram School and was selected by NTA.” He acknowledged an attempt to cheat but emphasised that “Bhatt was caught before the exam could begin.”
Pathak said, “There is no link between the cheating attempt at Jay Jalaram school and the NEET irregularities reported elsewhere in the country. CBI has found no material evidence after conducting searches at my client’s premises.”
“In the past, the school was given permission to have one classroom for Class 11 students with a maximum capacity of 66 students, but they admitted 450 students. Jay Jalaram School has also been charged with taking excessive fees from students. Why did the NTA choose such an institution for holding NEET? It seems the school owner has connections with some powerful people,” said senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil.
Dr. Sujaat Vali, a gynecologist who runs a hospital in Godhra and is also a social activist said the school “has good infrastructure and is centrally air-conditioned. However, it seems that for the last two years, Patel has been trying to attract students by getting involved in paper leaks.”
Patel, from Kantadi village in Godhra taluka, serves as the deputy sarpanch of the village. His father was active in local politics, and Patel often met with politicians, showcasing these connections on social media. He aspired to secure a ticket for the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls from the Shehra constituency but did not pursue it due to the popularity and influence of the sitting MLA, Jetha Bharwad, said people familiar with the matter.
During their investigation, the Gujarat police found eight blank cheques and another set of cheques worth ₹2.30 crore from the residence of Parsuram Roy of Roy Overseas. These cheques belonged to parents whose children had appeared for NEET-UG exams at Jalaram School.
“Some of these parents from Vadodara said they knew Bhatt from his time running a coaching class in the city. Others mentioned being in contact with Roy, who operated an overseas education consultancy firm. They had paid Roy in 2023 to secure their children’s admission in medical colleges abroad, but when this didn’t happen, they protested. Roy then assured them he would secure admissions in Indian medical colleges and help them get the required NEET-UG scores,” said a Gujarat police official.
