Ahmedabad: NEET racketeers offer ‘managed seats’ with rigged counselling

Ahmedabad: NEET racketeers are offering low-scoring candidates admission to private medical colleges through what they describe as a “managed seat” system. In a conversation with a TOI reporter who posed as the parent of a NEET aspirant, an alleged admission agent claimed he could secure seats in colleges across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu for payments ranging from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore.The conversation suggests that for some affluent families, the NEET score determines the price of admission rather than eligibility. When told that the student had scored around 300 marks, the agent immediately shifted the discussion to budget and began outlining admission packages available in different states.According to the agent, candidates scoring below 300 could obtain seats in Bihar for around Rs 80 lakh, while admissions in Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai could cost between Rs 90 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

He repeatedly claimed that seats could be arranged through counselling despite low scores.The most startling revelation came when the agent explained how seats were allegedly “managed”. While insisting that admissions would formally appear through the counselling process, he said that payment-based settlements determined who ultimately received allotments.Asked whether seats would be allotted on merit or through financial arrangements, the agent replied that a “settlement payment” was necessary for securing admission.

The agent further claimed that some colleges deliberately reject candidates who have secured merit by citing deficiencies during document verification. According to him, some students who qualify through merit are removed from the process, creating vacancies that can then be filled by candidates willing to pay substantial sums.The agent claimed that seats left vacant after such rejections are carried forward through successive rounds of counselling and eventually come under the college’s control.

These seats, along with unfilled NRI quota seats that are later converted, can allegedly be used to accommodate paying candidates.The agent, who claimed to be associated with a medical career counselling network operating from Chennai with offices in Delhi-NCR, also hinted at a “separate mechanism for obtaining government medical college seats”.But he refused to discuss the matter over the phone, insisting instead on a face-to-face meeting.BoxAnatomy of fraudulent intakeTOI reporter: How can a student with low marks get a seat if merit is the deciding factor?Fraudster: Seats become available during counselling. Colleges reject some candidates during document verification, citing deficiencies in their paperwork.TOI reporter: Are you saying eligible candidates are removed from the process?Fraudster: When colleges find issues in documents and reject some students, those seats become vacant and are moved to the next round of counselling.TOI reporter: And how does that help your clients?Fraudster: The vacant seats can then be allotted to candidates who come through us. Some seats remain unfilled after multiple rounds, and colleges have greater discretion over them later.TOI reporter: So the admission is not based purely on merit?Fraudster: There has to be a settlement. The payment arrangement is what matters. Once that is done, the seat can be managed through the counselling process.TOI reporter: Can you guarantee this?Fraudster: We have done this before. The process depends on the college, available seats, and the client’s budget.