After NEET paper leak row, fresh allegations surface over online sale of candidates' personal data

New Delhi: While the row over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak issue has not yet subsided, another controversy surrounding the selling of students' data who appeared for the NEET examination to universities online has surfaced. 

It has been alleged that personal information of candidates who appeared for national entrance and board examinations, including NEET and CUET, is being sold online through several websites.

As per a latest media report by News 18, the data being offered for sale includes candidates' names, mobile numbers, email addresses, parents' names and other personal details. The information is allegedly being purchased by private universities and admission consultants, who then use it to contact students with admission offers and promotional messages.

Some websites have reportedly listed student databases for prices ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, depending on the number of records and the state or city of the candidates.

One website allegedly claimed to have details of over 15 lakh CUET 2026 candidates. To reassure customers, the website also shared data from 500 students as "free samples," including their application numbers, dates of birth, gender, and other personal information.

Responding to the issue, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said it gives top priority to protecting candidates' privacy and shares examination data with universities only through secure government platforms such as DigiLocker and authorised APIs. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has reportedly said that it will investigate the matter.

NEET Cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, on May 12, 2026, the NTA declared the examination held on May 3 cancelled and subsequently announced a re-examination on June 21, 2026.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.

In the aftermath of the exam cancellation, protests were held, with aspirants and members of the medical fraternity condemning NTA and the Education Ministry for the failure.

Due to the alleged controversy, the central government decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. Based on the Centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case and so far arrested 13 people.