The JDU has refused to renew the party membership of Usha Sinha, wife of absconding former Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh and a non-FIR accused in the Intermediate exam results scam case in which her husband is a key accused.

Sinha, a former JDU MLA from Hilsa in Nalanda, is also absconding.

JDU state unit president Bashishtha Narayan Singh today said Sinha's name would not figure in the ongoing membership drive of the party. According to JDU rules, members are supposed to renew their membership and denial of renewal would automatically remove her from the party.

"It has been decided that the name of Usha Sinha shouldn't be included in the list of the ongoing membership drive," JDU spokesman Neeraj Kumar told The Telegraph. "So, in a way one can say that she has been removed from the party. The party had said earlier that strict action will be initiated against her or anybody tarnishing the state's image."

Police have procured arrest warrants against Lalkeshwar and Usha, and Magadh University today removed Usha from the post of principal of Ganga Devi Women's College in Kankerbagh, Patna.

"There was a meeting last evening in which it was decided to relieve her of all duties in the college. She has been replaced by Shyama Rai, who presently is the principal of the Nalanda Women's College in Biharsharif," Magadh University registrar Sitaram Singh said.

Sinha had been made acting principal of the college in May this year.

The police say they have found that answer sheets of toppers were either rewritten or their marks changed at Ganga Devi Women's College before being sent to the actual evaluation centre.

The special investigation team (SIT) today raided Vishun Roy College in Vaishali - which produced a number of toppers this year - again; the BSEB today cancelled the college's recognition.

"The BSEB recognises unaided colleges for conducting examination and course studies," a BSEB official told The Telegraph. "Before recognising them, a report is sought from the concerned district education officer (DEO). The BSEB has got a set of guidelines upon which the recognition is provided. Some of the guidelines include that the college should have a proper building, land, proper classrooms, laboratory facilities, etc. If the DEO finds that the college is up to the mark, the official sends the request to the BSEB which then takes necessary steps. A meeting convened by BSEB chairman Anand Kishor decided that the recognition given to Vishun Roy College, which is owned by Bachcha Rai, the kingpin of the scandal, be cancelled with immediate effect."

Students of four senior secondary colleges in Vaishali - Sant Kabir Mahant Ramdayal Das College, Sanjay Singh Senior Secondary School, Vasudev Singh Inter College and Ram Videshi Singh College - have complained that money had been taken from them promising good marks in examinations. The BSEB has formed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations and submit a report within 10 days.

A police raid at Bachcha's residence found branded ornaments worth Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1.17 lakh cash hidden in a jute sack which had been filled with hay, police sources told The Telegraph. The cops will also launch manhunts for the toppers and their parents who have gone into hiding.