Political Science topper arrested for cheating in exams, 3 other toppers absconding

Ruby Rai, an accused student in the Bihar topper scam, was arrested on Saturday after she miserably failed in her re-exams.

Earlier in May, a video of a Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Political Science topper, Ruby Rai, had gone viral on social media. In the video, when she was asked about Political Science, she remarked, “It’s all about cooking!”. Moreover, she pronounced the subject as ‘Prodigal Science’.

Similarly, Saurav Shreshtha, who topped the state’s Science stream, had no idea about the metal Sodium or electrons. He also said that aluminium was the most active metal.

The incidents raised serious questions regarding the credibility of the exams, following which the state government called for a probe into the matter and announced a retest for a total of fourteen Class 12 toppers.

After the test was conducted, the BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said, “Ruby’s answer sheets collected from the examination hall in February-March contained topper-like answers. But her answers in the 120-minute retest were thoroughly unsatisfactory.” He further added that Rai’s examination and re-examination copies will be sent to handwriting experts to ascertain if she had written the main paper herself.

A panel of experts confronted Rai after she miserably failed in the re-exams. In her defense she said, “I studied for two years and wrote the answers in the February-March examination, but now I have forgotten the answers.”

A case against four toppers, namely Ruby Rai, Saurabh Shresth, Rahul Kumar and Shalini Rai, was lodged by Rajeev Rajan Prasad Singh, an official from the Education Department. On June 7, the Kotwali police station in Patna registered a forgery and cheating case against the four students under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120(B) of the IPC.

The ‘Political science’ topper, Ruby Rai, was arrested on Saturday and produced before a judicial magistrate on Sunday where she was remanded in judicial custody for the next two weeks. Police is on the lookout for the other three accused who have been absconding since the re-exam.