NEET impersonation: Kerala woman held for preparing fake admit card

Thiruvananthapuram, May 5 (IANS) A woman employee at an Akshaya Centre in Kerala has been taken into custody for allegedly preparing a fake admit card for the NEET examination held on Sunday.

The employee, identified as Greeshma, was picked up by the Pathanamthitta police on Monday morning from Neyyattinkara, a suburb of the state capital, after a male candidate appearing for the NEET exam in Pathanamthitta was found with a suspicious admit card.

The impersonation came to light when an invigilator at the Pathanamthitta exam centre noticed discrepancies in the male candidate’s admit card.

Although the candidate was allowed to write the exam, the invigilator alerted the examination centre in Thiruvananthapuram for verification.

A quick cross-check revealed that another candidate with the same registration number was appearing for the exam in Thiruvananthapuram.

Police soon arrived at the Pathanamthitta centre and took the male candidate into custody.

His mother, who was present at the centre, reportedly told police that she had entrusted Greeshma with the task of submitting her son's NEET application and had paid the requisite fee.

Greeshma, during questioning, admitted that she had failed to complete the application on time and, realising that the deadline had passed, generated a fake admit card and handed it over to the candidate’s mother.

Following her confession, the Akshaya Centre in Neyyattinkara has been sealed.

Greeshma, who joined the centre four months ago, is now in Pathanamthitta police custody. Her formal arrest is expected soon.

Akshaya Centres are state-run service hubs that offer citizens access to various government services including Aadhaar registration, revenue documents, pension applications, and vehicle registration.

With NEET UG remaining a high-stakes examination for medical aspirants, the exam malpractice in Kerala has once again put the spotlight on vulnerabilities in the system.

--IANS

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