Bihar: BSEB chairman resigns; VR college principal, toppers on the run

PATNA: Chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, resigned from his post even as the SIT raided his office it Patna on Wednesday following the ongoing Intermediate exam muddle and alleged irregularities in evaluation of marks in this year's examination. Meanwhile, Bihar 10+2 Science topper Saurabh Shrestha, Arts topper Ruby Rai, and Vishun Roy College director-cum principal Amit Kumar alias Bachcha Rai - who is considered close to RJD boss Lalu Prasad, are still on the run after an FIR was registered against them on Monday on a complaint filed by the BSEB for alleged irregularities in the exams. They have been booked under relevant sections of IPC including section 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The four students against whom the case has been registered are Sourabh Shrestha, Rahul Kumar, Ruby Rai and Shalini. Police today arrived at Arts topper Ruby Rai's residence and questioned her family. ALSO READ: FIR against Bihar 10+2 Arts, Science toppers Besides, the names of Intermediate Arts topper Ruby Rai, Science toppers Shalini Rai, Saurav Shreshth and Rahul Kumar have also been included in the FIR. Ruby appeared for the Plus Two examination from Vishun Roy College, whose director-cum principal is Amit Kumar alias Bachcha Rai - who is considered close to RJD boss Lalu Prasad. Local residents said Bachcha had lobbied for an RJD ticket from the Paroo Assembly constituency in Muzaffarpur district last year but could not get it because of the fewer number of seats allotted to the party due the Grand Alliance understanding. Vishun Roy College, named after Bachcha Rai's grandfather, an influential person of the area, has a stunning success rate. This year, a number of top 10 students are from the college. The state topper in the science stream, Saurabh Shrestha, whose achievement is also under the scanner after he and Ruby were shown up to lack basic knowledge of their streams during television interviews, is from the same college and district. Saurabh's father, Ajay Singh, is a big railway contractor and influential person in the region. Last year, Bachcha's daughter Sonali had topped the state in the science stream. A couple of years ago, seven out of the 10 state toppers were from the college. Local residents said parents of students from far-off districts such as Patna, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur and Saran approach Bachcha to get their wards admitted to the college, thanks to its stellar record. A local resident, who did not want to be named, said: "Forget common people; even politicians, bureaucrats and technocrats make a beeline to the director's native place to get their children admitted in the college. Success is guaranteed here." Bachcha's family are diehard supporters of the RJD. His father, Rajdeo Rai, had unsuccessfully contested a Legislative Council poll as an RJD candidate. The family runs a number of academic institutions, including four Intermediate colleges and a BEd college. Bachcha was seen canvassing for votes in favour of Lalu's elder son Tej Pratap from Mahua in Vaishali district during the 2015 Assembly elections. Sources close to Bachcha said he had camped in Mahua for a month during the electioneering. "Nobody dares oppose the misdeeds of Bachcha Rai due to his connections in the corridors of power," said Prashant Kumar, who owns an eatery on the Hajipur-Muzaffarpur road. "Last year also, the result of the Plus Two exam was held up after complaints of irregularities in the examination. But the matter was settled and the results were finally published." Vishun Roy College was set up in 1997-98. The institute became famous in a short span of time. "People started vying for admission in the college because of its unexpected results," said a resident of Bhagwanpur, who requested anonymity. Nitesh Kumar (24), who runs a coaching institute next to the college, had doubts over the institute's record. "I have been burning the midnight oil and tutoring students with utmost attention; none of them have met with such grand success," he said. The Vishun Roy College authorities had earlier claimed that the institute has 38 teachers. But what is surprising is that the college, which seems to lack basic infrastructure, has produced so many state toppers in the past decade. "The quality of education being imparted at the college has certainly raised eyebrows," said another local resident who also did not want to be identified. (With inputs from The Telegraph Calcutta)