An 18-year-old boy from Udupi, in order to impress his parents, paid Rs 17,000 to obtain a tampered National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2025 marksheet, falsely showcasing an All India Rank (AIR) of 107 with 646 marks, reported The Hindu.

Discovery of the scam
The boy’s father, who is a government officer, grew suspicious when no newspapers reported his son’s alleged good performance. After sending the forged marksheet to a local newspaper, which published the news, he verified the results on the official NEET website, discovering his son’s actual rank was 17.6 lakh. The boy then confessed to paying for the fake scorecard.

How was it done?
During his NEET preparation in April, the boy came across a YouTube channel, Editing Mater (@Editingmaster-d6r).

The videos on the channel demonstrated how to digitally alter various exam result scorecards, including the NEET, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) marksheet, and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) results. They also provided two mobile numbers for contact.

According to the report, the boy reached out via WhatsApp to an individual identifying as Vishnu Kumar, transferring Rs 17,000.

On June 16, Vishnu Kumar allegedly sent a forged NEET scorecard and OMR sheet via WhatsApp, which was later deleted by the sender, after the boy downloaded it.

Police investigation
The boy’s father lodged a complaint with the Udupi Cyber Economic and Narcotic Crime Station. Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar stated that the boy admitted to being coerced into paying for the fake marksheet.

The police have registered a case under Sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the Information Technology Act, and Sections 336(2), 318(4), 335, and 336(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Authorities are now searching for the perpetrators, suspecting they may have defrauded other students as well.