In the Godhra NEET scam case, a Gujarat court rejected the bail plea of the accused, expressing dismay that the NTA has not responded to police requests. The investigating officer noted that the NTA has repeatedly failed to provide the OMR sheets of the suspected candidates who took the NEET exam at the Godhra center.
Gujarat: While rejecting the bail plea of Mahavirprasad Sharma, accused in the NEET center malpractice case in Godhra, the Panchmahal district court sessions judge in Gujarat expressed disappointment on Friday over the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) failure to provide essential documentary evidence despite multiple police requests.
This evidence deemed crucial to determine if the malpractice had been successfully executed.
The prosecution informed the court that Sharma, principal of Jay Jalaram School in Paravdi, Godhra a NEET exam center on May 5 along with other accused, not only convened with the parents of students involved in the malpractice but also maintained contact before and after the examination.
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During the bail application argument, the court took note of the investigative officer’s statement, highlighting the NTA’s refusal to hand over the OMR sheets of the suspected candidates despite repeated appeals.
The court remarked,
“It is very unfortunate that the NTA had not supplied such crucial documentary evidence to the investigating agency.”
The court remarked that although the NTA claimed the examination was secure, with strict protocols and CCTV surveillance at centers, the alleged malpractice occurred immediately after the exam.
The court added,
“Therefore, on perusal of the entire facts, prima facie, the possibility of malpractice cannot be ruled out at these centres,”
The investigation further disclosed that the accused employed similar malpractices in previous NEET UG exams.
The court observed,
“Entire education scandal has been hatched and conspired by the accused persons in a pre-planned manner.”
It noted that co-accused Arif Vohra, Vibhor Anand, Umeshwar Prasad Singh, and Parshuram Bindhnath Roy had contacted NEET UG aspirants from distant states like Jharkhand and Odisha, finalizing the arrangements with their parents.
As part of their scheme, the candidates selected Jay Jalaram School in Godhra as their NEET UG Examination center because the accused had established the groundwork for malpractice there, with the assistance of the current applicant.
District Government Pleader Rakesh Thakor informed the court that during the interrogation of the accused, it revealed that a meeting took place at Sharma’s house on May 4, the day before the exam. In attendance Sharma and co-accused Tushar Bhatt, where they “shortlisted the names of candidates with whom their deal had been finalized.”
Although the meeting captured by CCTV cameras installed in Sharma’s house, the digital video recording (DVR) has been formatted. Sharma also accused of attempting to destroy evidence.
The court noted,
“It transpires that the DVR has been recovered by the investigating officer and has been sent to the FSL, the report of which is awaited. Moreover, the original handwritten list of shortlisted candidates was also destroyed (by Sharma). However, the Xerox copy has been recovered from his possession.”
The court further observed that on May 6, after the examination, Sharma, along with Bhatt and accused Vohra, met at Hotel Sahyog and Hotel Grand Ekta, as the police had already begun interrogating Bhatt.
The court added,
“The CCTV footage of both the hotels has been recovered by the investigating officer,”
Taking a stern stance while denying the bail plea, the court stated,
“Imagine a person who has defrauded the system becoming a doctor, and a principal of an educational institution being involved in such deceit; this is detrimental to society. When the competition is not fair, hardworking, poor, middle-class students from small towns, who have sacrificed everything to achieve their dreams, are left with no options. Furthermore, candidates who become doctors through fraudulent means pose a significant societal danger.”
The Gujarat court‘s decision to deny bail to the accused in the Godhra NEET scam, coupled with its criticism of the NTA’s non-responsiveness, marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice in this case.