Bihar’s Intermediate Science topper Saurabh Shrestha and third topper Rahul Kumar, both students of Vishnu Rai College in Vaishali district, have failed the retest, following which the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) on Saturday cancelled their initial results. This is the first time in the history of BSEB that the merit list has been changed and results of two toppers cancelled.
Another student of the same college, Ruby Rai, the topper of Arts stream, who failed to turn up for the retest on Friday, has been given another chance to appear for her re-exam on June 11.
In another major decision, the BSEB derecognised the Vishnu Rai College with immediate effect, said BSEB chairman lalkeshwar Prasad Singh. This college has a dubious distinction of producing toppers almost every year.
This year too, altogether 646 students appeared in intermediate exam from this college of which 534 secured first division with three of them being toppers, 96 passed with second division and only 14 failed.
The Vishnu Rai College registered extraordinary performance with 97.52 pass percentage in Science whereas the average result of Bihar was as poor as 67.07 per cent.
Singh said of the 13 toppers who took the retest and were interviewed by a panel of experts, 11 passed.
Ruby had informed that due to mental depression she could not appear. Even though Ruby, who in an interview said she had “prodical science” as one of her subjects which dealt with cookery, is the most suspected topper, the BSEB decided to give her another chance to prove her merit.
Despite the action taken against the two toppers, the entire result of the Class XII has come under cloud. There is wider suspicion that in the order to hide its own wrongdoings the BSEB has acted against the two students.
Earlier, the BJP demanded the Nitish Kumar Government to take action against the chairman of BSEB, Vishnu Rai College and the “topper mafia” for the scandal that brought embarrassment to Bihar following the discovery that the toppers of the Intermediate exam did not know the basics of the subjects they studied but still secured highest marks.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Saturday that action against the controversial topper of arts Ruby Rai would be taken but he asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to act against the “topper mafia” college principal Bachcha Rai, who is close to RJD supremo lalu Prasad, and his college and against BSEB chairman Singh whose wife is a JD(U) leader.
Modi said that the college in question had always been in controversy but no action has ever been initiated against it and its principal Bachcha Rai, who actively participated in campaigning for lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua constituency.
Similarly, he alleged, from the time Singh was made BSEB chairman, the exam conducting body was in controversy for alleged scandals and malpractices.
For its part, the Chhatra Sangharsh Morcha has demanded a retest of the toppers of inter exam from 2012 saying due to malpractices many undeserving students were made toppers at the cost of meritorious candidates.