This article was originally published in MedBound Times. Read the original article.
By M Subha Maheswari
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate 2026, India’s largest medical entrance examination, has been cancelled after investigators found evidence that the examination paper had circulated through coaching networks, private WhatsApp groups, and intermediaries across multiple states before the test.
More than 22 lakh candidates appeared for the examination on May 3, 2026. The Union Education Ministry later cancelled the examination after Rajasthan investigators found substantial overlap between a leaked “guess paper” and the actual test.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has now taken over the case and has made arrests in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, and Jharkhand, while searches continue in additional states.
The investigation began in Rajasthan’s Sikar district after a Chemistry teacher associated with a prominent coaching institute, identified in multiple reports as Surendra Singh Shekhawat, approached authorities with concerns over a question paper circulating among students before the examination.
According to investigators, Shekhawat initially approached local officials but did not receive an immediate response. He later sent copies of the leaked questions directly to the National Testing Agency by email.
NTA Director General Abhishek Singh later said the whistleblower had reported receiving a WhatsApp message before the examination in which “a few questions matched” the actual NEET paper.
According to The Indian Express, the handwritten paper had reached the teacher through his landlord in Sikar, who had received it from his son studying in Kerala.
Officials later recovered a WhatsApp message marked “Forwarded many times,” which led investigators to a private WhatsApp group allegedly named “Private Mafia.”
Rajasthan Special Operations Group officials said members allegedly paid amounts starting from Rs 5,000 to gain access to the group, while full paper access was allegedly sold separately for amounts ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, according to Times of India and police disclosures.
ANI also reported that students questioned by the CBI told investigators they had allegedly paid between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for access to the leaked material distributed through coaching networks in Sikar.
ANI further reported that investigators are examining claims that the question paper may have first been handwritten before being scanned and shared digitally.
Investigators recovered a PDF file of around 150 pages containing over 400 questions.
According to Rajasthan Additional Director General of Police Vishal Bansal, around 120 questions from the leaked document matched the actual NEET-UG 2026 paper, including all 90 Biology questions and all 45 Chemistry questions.
Officials said the PDF had reportedly been circulating for nearly a month before the examination.
Rajasthan SOG Inspector General Ajay Pal Lamba said the accused allegedly marketed the actual paper as a “guess paper” to avoid immediate suspicion.
Investigators believe the leaked paper began circulating through coaching circles in Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Kerala.
Police later identified digital transfers, payment records, and multiple forwarded copies shared among students, counsellors, and intermediaries.
NEET-UG 2026 was conducted nationwide.
The same day, suspicious financial transactions and communication records linked to the leaked paper began drawing attention from local investigators.
At around 1:30 am on May 4, the whistleblower first approached Sikar police with pages of the suspected leaked paper, according to The Indian Express. Officials said he later cross-checked the material and formally emailed the National Testing Agency at around 9:30 pm on May 7, offering to submit his phone for forensic examination.
Rajasthan SOG began questioning students, parents, counsellors, and hostel operators in Sikar and nearby districts.
Investigators later said more than 150 candidates, their parents, and associates were questioned.
Rajasthan investigators established that 120 questions in the leaked PDF matched the actual examination.
The Union government cancelled NEET-UG 2026.
The case was transferred to the CBI.
Rajasthan SOG later said it had handed over around 24 key suspects, along with details of 150 students and about 70 parents, to the CBI as part of the expanding investigation.
CBI registered an FIR and launched raids across six states, including Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
One of the first major detentions came from Nashik, Maharashtra.
Police detained Shubham Khairnar, identified in multiple reports as a 30-year-old Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery student.
According to Nashik Police, Khairnar allegedly obtained a physical copy of the examination paper from an associate in Pune days before the examination.
Moneycontrol also reported that investigators are examining whether hard copies of the paper were moved through courier services before being circulated further through social media groups.
Police alleged he bought the paper for Rs 10 lakh and later sold it onward for Rs 15 lakh.
Investigators also said he altered his appearance by cutting his hair before being detained.
Khairnar was later transferred to CBI custody.
Fresh reports from Maharashtra investigators said four more people were later detained in Pune and Ahilyanagar, including two Ayurveda practitioners, one engineering student, and one beauty parlour owner, as investigators examined whether a Pune-based accused had couriered a hard copy of the paper to Nashik before it spread further through interstate networks.
Maharashtra Police later arrested Rani Jadhav, along with another accused linked to the same network, according to Siasat and local police disclosures.
Investigators are examining whether they helped facilitate financial transfers and candidate connections.
CBI also arrested Dinesh Biwal, identified by The Print as a local youth-wing functionary affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with his brother.
According to ANI, investigators now believe the paper may have reached Rajasthan through Yash Yadav, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medical Sciences student who allegedly knew Vikas Biwal. Investigators are also examining whether Dinesh Biwal scanned a hard copy of the question paper and converted it into PDF files before it was circulated in coaching circles in Sikar.
Investigators are also examining whether four relatives of the two brothers who cleared NEET in 2025 may have received access to the leaked material, according to The Print. Investigating agencies have not publicly alleged wrongdoing against those candidates, and officials have not announced any charges against them.
Neither the BJP nor investigating agencies have publicly linked examination results of relatives to criminal wrongdoing.
Investigators told The Hindu that an MBBS student from Rajasthan who was studying in Kerala allegedly forwarded the leaked paper to friends and family in Rajasthan before the exam.
Officials believe this helped the paper spread further through coaching and hostel networks in Sikar.
According to Medical Dialogues and Rajasthan investigators, a doctor based near Gurugram is also under investigation over an alleged Rs 30 lakh transaction linked to the leak.
Investigators have not yet announced formal charges in that part of the probe.
During CBI custody, one accused claimed that “big people” were being protected in the investigation, according to NDTV video coverage.
Investigators have not publicly verified this allegation.
By May 14, the CBI had arrested at least five accused and conducted searches across six states.
According to The Telegraph, searches included locations in Bihar and Jharkhand connected to earlier exam fraud networks.
After formally taking over the investigation, the CBI also produced the arrested accused before a magistrate and sought custodial interrogation to trace the wider syndicate, digital communication trails, and financial transactions, according to NDTV video coverage.
In the case of Shubham Khairnar, a Mumbai court granted the CBI two days of transit custody to facilitate further questioning and transfer for continued investigation.
CBI has seized:
Mobile phones
Laptops
Bank transaction records
WhatsApp chats
Payment records
Candidate lists
A petition has now been filed before the Supreme Court seeking:
Replacement of the National Testing Agency
Conduct of a fresh examination
Court-monitored investigation
According to Bar and Bench, petitioners argued that repeated paper leak controversies have undermined public confidence in centralized entrance testing.
The Union government is now examining a hybrid examination model for NEET after repeated paper leak controversies, according to Times of India.
Under the model being discussed, question papers may be transmitted digitally in encrypted form to examination centres shortly before the test, printed locally under supervision, and then distributed as physical papers for candidates to answer on OMR sheets. Officials are examining whether this could reduce risks linked to printing, storage, and transportation of question papers before the exam.
Following cancellation of the examination, reports from Goa and other states highlighted severe emotional distress among candidates.
Times of India reported the death of a 17-year-old aspirant, with local police investigating whether examination-related stress contributed.
Authorities have not officially linked the death to the cancellation.
According to The Hindu, the Union government and NTA had opposed cancelling NEET in 2024 during earlier legal proceedings, citing student welfare before the Supreme Court.
The cancellation of the 2026 examination marks a significant shift in the official response to examination integrity concerns.
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