Patna: As authorities tighten security to curb question paper leaks, the exam mafia evolves with more sophisticated methods, shifting from paper theft to biometric fraud by exploiting new vulnerabilities. STOI explores how the racket keeps reinventing itself.The playbook for cracking India’s most competitive medical entrance examination has changed and Bihar once again finds itself at the centre of a battle between technology and organised crime. Gone are the days when NEET-UG rackets depended mainly on leaked question papers smuggled out of printing presses, transport routes or examination centres. The new currency is biometric fraud.Investigators probing the June 21 NEET-UG re-examination say the examination mafia has shifted from stealing papers to manipulating biometric verification. According to investigators, hired “scholars” — impersonators with strong academic credentials — were allowed to sit the examination for genuine candidates after biometric attendance was allegedly tampered with in connivance with staff associated with the agency handling the process.The shift marks a significant evolution in examination fraud. Instead of risking a paper trail through leaked question papers, investigators believe racketeers have found a cleaner and harder-to-detect method by replacing the candidate altogether.The change did not happen overnight. On May 5, 2024, the day of the NEET-UG examination, Patna Police arrested 13 people, including candidates, parents, solvers and middlemen, exposing what investigators described as an organised network of handlers, transporters and safe houses.Police raids at a house in Ram Krishna Nagar, Patna, found around 30 candidates allegedly memorising answers from leaked question papers circulated through WhatsApp and encrypted email. Before dawn, handlers transported them to examination centres in private vehicles, leaving little conventional evidence behind.“The investigation described the gang as “tech-savvy.” Masquerading as labourers in rented rooms, they leaked papers, trained candidates, and escorted them to centres. After each exam, they’d “get to work on identifying the chinks in the system for the next one,” an officer said.Investigators said handlers recruited clients through coaching institutes, schools and colleges while cultivating insiders capable of facilitating the operation. A former Economic Offences Unit (EOU) officer said three major gangs currently operate in Bihar. One of them is allegedly headed by Ranjit Kumar Singh, alias Ranjit Don, who has faced allegations in multiple examination paper leak cases before entering politics.The roots of examination fraud stretch back much further. Before online applications became the norm, roll numbers were allotted according to when application forms reached examination authorities. Criminal networks exploited the system.“They’d send multiple forms in one envelope, using codes like ‘bogie’ for candidates and ‘engine’ for proxies,” said a senior police officer.The practice ensured both the genuine candidate and the impersonator received roll numbers for the same centre. After videography at the entrance, the proxy allegedly replaced the candidate inside the examination hall. Even OMR sheets were later manipulated in some cases. Online applications introduced after 2010 closed that loophole, but the mafia simply shifted to question paper leaks.Investigators say papers were leaked at different stages — during compilation, at printing presses, while stored in bank currency chests, during transportation and even at examination centres. By 2024, the operation had become highly organised.The May 3, 2026, NEET-UG paper leak forced a re-examination on June 21. It was during this exercise that investigators say the examination mafia unveiled its next upgrade.“Instead of facilitating question paper leaks in the last three exams, the new method involved tampering with biometric attendance in connivance with the handling agency and its employees to allow scholars to impersonate genuine examinees,” an official said.“Why leak a paper when you can swap the person taking it?” he added.The June 21 re-examination in Lakhisarai exposed the alleged method. Lakhisarai police busted a solver gang operating at KRK College, Kendriya Vidyalaya and High School Hasanpur. Thirty people were arrested, including nine alleged “scholars”, 18 biometric staff members, including three supervisors, one original candidate and two MBBS students accused of assisting the operation.“With the collusion of biometric staff, dummy candidates were allowed entry to take the exam for real aspirants. Forged Aadhaar cards were used after document fabrication,” a police headquarters statement said.Investigators alleged the genuine candidate’s biometric verification was completed outside the examination centre before the impersonator entered without undergoing biometric checks. Biometric staff allegedly pasted hologram stickers on admit cards so invigilators believed verification had already been completed.The investigation also uncovered the alleged use of forged identity documents carrying different names, fathers’ names and addresses. According to an EOU official, Educational Consultants India Ltd (EdCIL), a public sector undertaking under the ministry of education, had secured the biometric contract for NEET but subcontracted it to Innovative View. Investigators alleged a contractor from Nalanda recruited local youths aged between 18 and 20 years for around Rs 500 each to perform biometric duties.Rules require police verification of personnel deployed for jammer or biometric duties. Police said this requirement was ignored while hiring the local youths. All 18 arrested biometric staff members are from Lakhisarai.Interrogation of those arrested revealed medical students allegedly struck deals worth Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh to appear for candidates, with around Rs 25 lakh allegedly going to the solvers.From manipulating roll number allotments to leaking question papers and now allegedly compromising biometric verification, the examination mafia has consistently adapted to every new safeguard. As the NTA and police continue their investigation, the larger question remains whether technology alone can protect India’s most competitive entrance examination. If biometric verification itself can be compromised through insider collusion, restoring confidence will require far more than stronger software. It will demand equally robust accountability, oversight and vigilance for an examination that shapes the future of more than 20 lakh aspirants every year.
