Dubious Class 12 Arts ‘topper’ from Bihar, Ruby Rai was arrested on Saturday by the Special Investigation Team of the police from the premises of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). She was arrested soon after an interview by a panel of experts that had called her for a retest.
Ruby had been given a third opportunity to appear before the panel of experts to prove her merit. After failing to turn up for the retest the first two times on different pretexts she came on Saturday and appeared before the panel, but her replies were found to be highly unsatisfactory.
All the 13 students who topped the Class 12 Board exams had been called for a retest after it was revealed that the ‘toppers’ had very little idea of the subjects in which they got distinctions.
Ruby had been caught on a TV channel saying that she studied "prodical" science and explained that it was the science of cooking.
Incidentally, three of the dubious toppers belonged to Vishnu Rai College of Vaishali district, which had the unique distinction of producing toppers almost every year.
A Patna court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against four toppers of the intermediate examination, including Ruby, in the exam racket. Science topper Saurabh Shrestha, third topper Rahul Kumar and Vishnu Roy College principal Bachcha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai are the other three against whom the arrest warrant was issued.
A number of people have already been arrested in connection with this scandal, including BSEB chairman lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his wife and ex-JD(U) MlA Usha Sinha, Vaishali college managing director Bachcha Rai and some staff of BSEB and personal aides of Singh. Many colleges including that of Rai have already been derecognized since then.
Meanwhile, during questioning the PA of former BSEB chairman revealed that Rs 15 lakh was charged for declaring toppers through dubious means, Patna SSP Manu Maharaj said.