PATNA: Nine impersonators, including a third-year MBBS student of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), were arrested in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district during the NEET UG 2026 re-examination held on Sunday.
The impersonators, also known as scholars or solvers in local parlance, were arrested when the authorities concerned conducted raids at various examination centres.
In addition, seven employees of a private agency responsible for biometric verification have been detained for questioning.
The arrested student of PMCH has been identified as Mayank Kashyap. While seven were arrested from Kendriya Vidyalaya examination centre, one student each was apprehended from K R K School and Hasanpur high school examination centres in Sheikhpura district, respectively.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the arrested individuals had appeared in place of bona fide candidates in exchange for large sums of money. Police officials believe that Rs 10 lakh was demanded from each candidate for providing a scholar (impersonator).
Sub-divisional officer (SDO) Prabhakar Kumar said that during initial questioning, several of the arrested youths claimed to be associated with medical colleges in Patna and Gaya in Bihar and Delhi.
According to sources, some of them are students of PMCH, ANMMCH Gaya, and medical institutions in Delhi. Investigating agencies are verifying their academic records and identity documents.
Officials stated that at the Hasanpur examination centre , a person was caught taking the examination on behalf of a candidate named Sanjeet Kumar. Similarly, Arpit Raj, a fourth-year MBBS student at ANMMCH Gaya, was also arrested in Lakhisarai and is currently being questioned.
The NEET UG re-examination was conducted at four centres in Sheikhpura district including Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kiul, Government High School Hasanpur, KRK High School, and DIET Lakhisarai.
During intensive inspections, seven fake candidates were arrested from Kendriya Vidyalaya, one from Hasanpur High School, and one from KRK High School.
Officials became suspicious when photographs and fingerprints failed to match during document and identity verification.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Shivam Kumar said that all those arrested were appearing on behalf of other candidates. Evidence is being collected against them, and investigators are probing the wider network involved.
According to police sources, some fake candidates were allowed to enter the examination centres without complete biometric verification. This has raised suspicions about the involvement of agency employees in the racket.
Police are questioning these employees at a confidential location to determine whether the entire operation was part of a well-planned conspiracy.
Investigating agencies suspect that an organised inter-state solver gang may be behind the operation. Police are trying to determine the amount of money exchanged between the genuine candidates and the solvers, and also identify everyone involved in the network. Mobile phones, documents, and digital records of the arrested individuals are being examined.
As soon as information about the incident was received, District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar, Superintendent of Police Prerna Kumar, SDO, and SDPO personally visited the examination centres.