UP: NEET aspirant chops off foot to avail disability quota for MBBS admission

(Representative image)

A 24-year-old NEET aspirant from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, cut off a part of his left foot to claim disability quota for MBBS college admission.

Suraj Bhaskar had twice failed the medical entrance exam, NEET, for admission into a government medical college, leading him to take the extreme step and claim he lost a foot in a violent attack, police said.

Suraj is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital and is out of danger.

While police saw through his ploy, they are currently seeking legal opinion to determine what sections of criminal law could be levelled against him, according to a report by The Hindu.

The matter came to light after the aspirant’s elder brother Akash Bhaskar informed police on Sunday that unidentified assailants allegedly assaulted Suraj the previous night, leaving him unconscious with a severed foot before fleeing.

Based on Akash’s complaint, a first information report (FIR) was lodged against unknown persons for attempted murder, circle officer (city) Goldie Gupta said.

Officers aware of the details, however, said that Suraj repeatedly changed his statement and tried to mislead the police during the probe. Questioning of Suraj’s girlfriend deepened police’s suspicion about his efforts to secure admission to a medical college at any cost.

“In October, he went to Banaras Hindu University and tried to get some necessary documents related to disability, but was unsuccessful. Disappointed, he returned and decided to make himself disabled and cut off his own foot, seemingly using a machine, at an under construction house,” Gupta said, according to a report by PTI.

During the investigation, police also recovered a diary belonging to Suraj in which he had written, “I will become an MBBS doctor in 2026”.