Bihar merit list scam: Mastermind Bachcha Rai arrested

Patna: The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district. Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said. "We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI. Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him today. Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively. "We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said. Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively. The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said. Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College. Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna. (REOPENS CAL2) According to investigation, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to make Shalini Rai a topper in the science stream later on through verification of marks. But, the snowballing controversy derailed the plan and put her and father Bachha Rai in trouble, police said. Ruby Rai had reportedly described Political science as "Prodikal Science". During re-test on last Saturday, she had not appeared before the experts team citing "depression". The BSEB had asked her to appear for re-test on June 11. Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh who was forced to resign as BSEB Chairman following evidences of his "connivance" in the scandal is absconding.