Bihar Sharif: In a pre-emptive action ahead of the NEET-UG medical entrance examination, Nalanda police busted an organized ‘solver gang’ operating from the Pawapuri area, and arrested three people, including a second-year MBBS student. The arrests were carried out on Saturday night, just hours before the examination, though the details were officially disclosed on Monday by Rajgir DSP Sunil Kumar Singh.The accused have been identified as Avdhesh Kumar (31), a native of Muzaffarpur and a second-year MBBS student at Bhagwan Mahavir Institute of Medical Sciences (BMIMS), Pawapuri; Aman Kumar Singh (23) from Motihari; and Pankaj Kumar Sah (25). Police recovered Rs 2.95 lakh in cash, two SUVs, and multiple mobile phones containing incriminating digital evidence.Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding an impersonation racket, police intensified vehicle checks across the district. During the operation, two vehicles attempted to flee a checkpoint in Pawapuri but were intercepted. A subsequent search led to the discovery of cash concealed inside a vehicle dashboard.Preliminary investigations indicate that the racket charged aspirants between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to arrange ‘solvers’—meritorious students from states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh—who would appear in the examination on behalf of candidates.Data retrieved from Avdhesh Kumar’s mobile phone reportedly includes admit cards for NEET, AEO, and BSNL exams, along with chat records and financial transactions. The network is suspected to have operated across multiple districts, including Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Jamui, and Aurangabad, facilitating impersonation for over a dozen candidates.Police sources revealed that the operation was allegedly coordinated by the kingpin, Ujjwal Raj alias Raja Babu, a 2022-batch MBBS student from Muzaffarpur, who remains absconding. Timely intervention by authorities prevented the circulation of fake admit cards and potential malpractice at three examination centers set up in Nalanda.
