Amid rising concerns about exam integrity, especially in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), a concerning case has emerged where scamsters are allegedly targeting NEET-UG aspirants with offers of fixing exam centres in exchange for money.
In one such case, a caller claiming to be from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, contacted a student and offered a “guaranteed” selection in the NEET Undergraduate (UG) 2025 exam, on the condition that he pay Rs 5 lakh.
The plan, according to the caller, involved the student leaving his OMR sheet blank during the exam. An “expert” from their team would allegedly be present inside the exam centre superintendent’s chamber and would fill in the answers on his behalf after the timings for writing the paper ends.
The student who received this call is not an aspirant of NEET-UG 2025, but a third-year MBBS student at Kannur Medical College, Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to EdexLive, the student said, “I received the call yesterday around 11.30 am. She asked if anyone in my family was preparing for NEET. I told her that I am appearing this year. She then said my selection didn’t happen last time because of the paper leak, and they could help me this year.”
“She asked about my previous NEET score. I told her it was around 600. That’s when she made the offer and said they’d ensure a good rank this time,” he added.
The caller insisted on speaking to the student’s parents and reiterated her offer to secure a good score in exchange for Rs 5 lakh.
“I am not sure where they got my contact, but I am guessing it was from the time I was enrolled at a coaching centre in Bihar. Either the institute shared my data or it was leaked elsewhere,” he added.
Call recording goes viral
After the incident, the student shared a voice recording of the conversation with health activist Dr Dheeraj Maheshwari, known on X (formerly Twitter) as @autopsy_surgeon.
Dr Maheshwari posted the details publicly in a tweet that has since garnered significant attention.
https://x.com/autopsy_surgeon/status/1912463792874619388
“It seems like these scammers are now targeting NEET students with such calls, trying to trap them by offering illegal shortcuts and fake promises,” he wrote.
Speaking to EdexLive, Dr Maheshwari added, "Rs 5 lakh is a small amount for something as serious as NEET-UG centre fixing, which makes it all the more likely to be a scam. After last year’s paper leak and centre manipulation controversies, incidents like these are becoming a bigger concern.”
Health activist Dr Dhruv Chauhan also weighed in, highlighting the recurring nature of such scams around major medical entrance exams.
“Such scamsters appear every year, and unless the government takes strict action against them, this will continue to happen. Students should avoid wasting time on such agents; they only take your money and disappear,” he said.
No trust in the system
This scam attempt comes at a time when public trust in the NEET-UG examination process remains shaken.
It is crucial to note that the 2024 edition of the exam was marred by serious allegations of paper leaks and irregularities.
Investigations were launched in multiple states after reports emerged that question papers had been leaked prior to the exam. The controversy led to widespread protests by parents and students and was taken up in the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court.
While the Supreme Court refused to order a re-exam, citing the absence of evidence indicating a systemic breach, it did acknowledge that a leak had indeed occurred and that the sanctity of the exam had been compromised.
Whether the recent scam call is an isolated case of scamsters feeding off last year’s controversy or a signal that the integrity of NEET-UG 2025 may again be at risk remains unclear.
