Bihar merit list scam: Court accepts 'topper' to be a minor, sends her to remand home

Patna: A district court on Monday accepted that the controversial Humanities ’topper’ in the Bihar Intermediate Examination, who has been arrested in connection with an examination cheating racket, is a minor. Special Vigilance court judge Raghvendra Kumar Singh accepted that the girl is a minor on the basis of her matriculation certificate which mentioned her date of birth as 15 November, 1998, paving the way for her shifting from Beur model jail to a remand home. [caption id=“attachment_2872204” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bihar toppers. CNN-News18[/caption] The girl along with the Science stream topper had come into limelight after they gave ridiculous answers to questions on their subjects in a video which went viral, prompting an inquiry. She was arrested by Special Investigation Team (SIT) as she emerged from a re-test of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) on 25 June and sent to Beur jail. But, as per her matriculation certificate she is 17 years, 3 months and nine days old and cannot be sent to jail. Former member of the Juvenile Justice Board KD Mishra, who appeared in the court in favour of the girl, presented her matriculation certificate to claim that she is a minor. The lawyer of the Bihar School Examination Board also did not oppose the matriculation certificate of the girl in the court on Monday. With the court accepting her as a minor, it meant that she would be shifted to a remand home from Beur model jail of Patna. The girl, from the controversial Bishun Roy college of Vaishali district, was taken into custody by Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the basis of arrest warrant issued by a Patna district court against her and three other rank-holders in the examination racket case. Senior Superintendent of Police of Patna Manu Maharaj, who is heading the SIT, told PTI that the police will act in accordance with the court’s order. While the girl is lodged in Beur jail, her parents have gone underground to escape arrest. After a re-test on 25 June, on the basis of her poor performance not matching her rank in the Humanities stream and the evaluators’ report, the BSEB had cancelled her result and the police took her in custody as she stepped out of BSEB that day. Former BSEB Chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his former JD(U) MLA wife Usha Sinha and Secretary cum Principal of Bishun Roy college in Vaishali Bachha Rai, alleged to be kingpins of the racket, are among 21 persons arrested in the case so far.