The Bihar School Examination Board on Tuesday cancelled recognition of 68 inter-colleges and 19 schools in the state in connection with the investigation into the toppers scam that surfaced in May 2016, ANI reported. A Special Investigation Team had been set up to look into the results of the Class 10 board exams on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's orders, after several top-rankers were found to be clueless about their subjects.
Investigators found that Keshav Vindewari Devi college, one of the colleges that have been derecognised, operated out of a garage. Anand Kishore, chairman of the BSEB, said several institutes were found to be functioning from single rooms, NDTV reported. He said most of the colleges in question got their affiliation to the board during the tenure of former Chairman Prof Lalkeswar Prasad Singh, one of the accused in the scam.
The inquiry team had filed a 4,000-page chargesheet in September, naming 32 accused, including Singh, former principal of VR College Bachcha Rai and four toppers, among others. VR College had several toppers in 2016. Singh and Rai are both currently in jail.
After the scam came to light, the education board had cancelled the results of two toppers and asked all 14 of them to appear for a re-test. The two toppers in question had failed to answer basic questions related to their subjects in a video that went viral. The SIT had arrested Ruby Rai, one of the two toppers, on June 25 after she failed the re-test.
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