Ahmedabad: Twelve complaints against them in different states, and transactions worth Rs 1.5 crore. Ahmedabad cyber crime branch’s first arrests in the NEET paper scam could give investigators a deeper look into the murky crime that targets medical aspirants and their parents open to cracking the exam by any means. Two men — Sumer Singh Meena of Jaipur and Akash Meena of Kota — have been nabbed from Rajasthan for allegedly promising access to Re-NEET question papers through Telegram channels. Technical analysis of the Telegram accounts, mobile numbers, IP addresses and financial transactions led police to the accused. TOI recently published an investigative report on how “solutions” to the exam, including question papers and scores, are “guaranteed” for hefty payments.The accused allegedly operated multiple Telegram channels, including ‘Raghav_singh_neet’, ran ads and sent messages targeting aspirants. The two had contacted over 1,000 mobile numbers and Telegram IDs in a month and collected money by promising question papers and other confidential examination-related information. According to cyber crime officers, no NEET question papers or confidential exam material have been recovered, indicating that the racket could be entirely based on fraudulent claims. Police also found that the accused allegedly inflated membership figures of Telegram channels using third-party services and later sold those channels for profit.Preliminary probe revealed transactions worth nearly Rs 1.5 crore routed through multiple bank accounts. At least 12 complaints in different states have been linked to six bank accounts allegedly operated by the accused. Investigators say funds were routed through gaming and betting websites to conceal their origin.
