Bihar toppers scam: Rubi Rai shifted from jail to remand home

Patna, July 5: Having been ruled a minor by a court here, Bihar's toppers scam accused Rubi Rai was shifted on Tuesday from Beur jail to a remand home, police said.

"Rubi Rai was shifted to a remand home from central Beur jail in Patna on Tuesday after the court order was received by the concerned authorities," a district police official said.

Hearing a petition filed by a non-governmental organisation 'Paryas Bharti', the court on Monday accepted Rubi's age on the basis of her matriculation certificate which mentioned her date of birth as November 15, 1998.

Social activists had pointed out that Rubi, who was arrested on June 25, was jailed in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Rubi had 'topped' the Class 12 examination in Arts stream conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

She got into trouble after a sting on Aaj Tak TV channel showed her giving ludicrous answers to some elementary questions about her subjects.

Similarly caught on camera was Class 12 Science stream 'topper' Saurabh Shreshtha.

The sting suggested that the 'toppers' might have used cheating and fraud to achieve the ranks they got in the exam.

Both Rubi and Saurabh belonged to V.R. College in Vaishali district.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Bihar Police then lodged an FIR against Rubi, Saurabh and two other 'toppers'.

Twenty people have so far been arrested in connection with what has come to be known as the 'toppers scam'.

IANS