Patna: As investigators peel back the layers of the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam fraud, a solver syndicate allegedly run by MBBS students has emerged at the centre of the case. While authorities prevented any paper leak, the gang is accused of bypassing the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) security measures by deploying dummy candidates at examination centres.According to police sources, the alleged kingpin of the racket is Arpit Singh of Muzaffarpur, who is believed to have formed the network with three associates while studying in Kota.Investigators have found that the gang allegedly planned to seat around 100 dummy candidates across Bihar during the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. Medical students from eight states were brought in to appear in place of genuine candidates. Police suspect deals worth several crores were struck, with candidates allegedly paying Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh each.The investigation has revealed links stretching across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Police suspect the network has been operating in medical entrance examinations for the past three years.“Arpit started the solver gang in Kota while preparing for medical entrance. There he befriended Mayank Kumar alias Ashwini Kumar, Ranjit Kumar and Ravi Shankar. The four began placing dummy candidates in exams. They roped in students from several coaching institutes in Kota. Being MBBS students themselves made it easy to find solvers,” a police source said.Arpit is a fourth-year MBBS student at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH), Gaya. During verification, police allegedly found discrepancies in the address and family details provided by him and suspect forged documents may have been used to create a false identity.A total of 30 persons, including nine impostors, 18 biometric staff and three others, were arrested in Lakhisarai on June 21. So far, 12 medical students have been arrested.Police are now examining CCTV footage from examination centres, scrutinising the role of biometric staff and probing the agency responsible for biometric verification. Investigators are also checking all 331 examination centres across 35 cities in Bihar and tracing candidates linked to the alleged racket.Vivek Kumar, arrested as a dummy candidate in Lakhisarai, is also a medical student and had earlier figured in an investigation linked to the solver network.Sources said the racket allegedly charged Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh per candidate, while solvers were paid Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for appearing in examinations. The suspected fraud in Bihar alone is estimated to exceed Rs 50 crore.
