NEET 2026 paper leak: From WhatsApp forward to CBI FIR, Gurugram doctor, Rs 30 lakh deal in Multi-state racket under scanner

New Delhi: The alleged NEET UG 2026 paper leak, coming nearly two years after the massive 2024 paper leak scam, has once again shaken the country and left lakhs of medical aspirants in uncertainty, doubt about the credibility of the examination system and their future.

Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country. However, the high-stakes entrance examination held on May 3 for admission to MBBS courses was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday after allegations of paper leak surfaced.

According to the NTA, information relating to alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for “independent verification and necessary action”.

Following this, the Rajasthan Police’s SOG, which investigated the matter, had claimed that a “guess paper” for chemistry that was allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 questions that appeared in the test.

The controversy, which eventually led to the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 and a nationwide CBI probe, has so far revealed links stretching from Kerala to Gurugram, Rajasthan and several other states.

Recently, the CBI lodged an FIR on Tuesday in connection with the paper leak allegation. After receiving a reference from the Centre, the CBI moved with alacrity, registering a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and other offences, the officials said.

The agency will soon dispatch a team to Rajasthan to collect material from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police, which was investigating the case, PTI has reported.

How the leak was discovered

The alleged paper leak is reportedly to have stemmed from a late-night message between a medical student in Kerala and his father, who runs a PG accommodation facility in Sikar. The investigators have alleged that the discovery was entirely accidental, triggered by WhatsApp messages forwarding a ‘guess paper’ shared hours before the 3 May exam.

At around 11 pm on 2 May, the student received a PDF-format “guess paper” from a friend in Sikar. Since he was already pursuing MBBS and was not appearing for NEET, he forwarded the file to his father, who runs a hostel for coaching students in Sikar.

He left a message to his father saying the file might help any hostel residents preparing for the exam. The father reportedly saw the message only the next morning after the students had already left for their examination centres.

He later shared the PDF with a local chemistry teacher out of curiosity.

After getting the paper, the chemistry teacher compared the PDF with the actual NEET question paper and allegedly found that 45 out of 108 chemistry questions matched exactly. A biology teacher later checked the same PDF and reportedly found that 90 out of 204 biology questions were identical to those in the exam.

With a total overlap of 135 questions, the hostel owner and teachers suspected a major breach in the examination process. Following this, they approached local police in Sikar, reports Mathrubhumi

However, the police initially declined to register a complaint and allegedly suggested that they were trying to get the examination cancelled. Unwilling to give up, the pair emailed the National Testing Agency directly. It was only then, four days after the exam, that the matter was taken.

The NTA subsequently alerted the Intelligence Bureau and requested an investigation by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group on 8 May.

How it began spreading

As per information from investigators, the leak may have originated from a printing press in Nashik, Maharashtra. Rajasthan Police sources earlier told India Today that the paper was allegedly leaked from there and then passed through a chain network before reaching a doctor in Gurugram, Haryana.

According to sources, the paper travelled from the Nashik printing press to Rajasthan’s Sikar via Haryana and Jamwa Ramgarh. From Sikar, which is emerging as a major hub in the suspected interstate exam leak network, it then spread to Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Kerala and Uttarakhand.

The Gurugram doctor has become the key suspect in the case. From him, the paper allegedly reached two brothers from Rajasthan’s Jamwa Ramgarh. The police have arrested the brothers in connection with the case. They are accused of purchasing the NEET-UG paper on 26 April, nearly a week before the examination, for Rs 30 lakh.

After their arrest, it was reportedly revealed that they had known for nearly a month in advance that this year’s paper would be leaked. One of the brothers is also reportedly to have links with a political party. Sources further claimed that four children from their family had cleared the NEET last year.

After allegedly purchasing the paper on 26 April, one of the brothers reportedly shared it with his son, who was preparing for NEET in Sikar. Then they allegedly sold it to several people on April 29.

The paper then allegedly reached an MBBS counselling agent operating in Sikar, which has now emerged as the epicentre of this year’s paper leak scam.

Medical Dialogues had reported that the Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) in its ongoing investigation arrested the alleged 'mastermind' from Dehradun along with four other NEET aspirants in connection. The prime accused in the incident is a Sikar-based career counsellor from Dehradun.

He is accused of selling the leaked question paper to aspirants as a 'Guess Paper'. He had received it from one of the examinees in Kerala; allegedly sold it for Rs 30,000 to one of his aides, a student from Sikar studying MBBS in Kerala.

NEET 2026 cancelled:

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 12 declared that the examination held on May 3 has been cancelled and will be re-conducted on dates that will be notified separately.

On its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the NTA posted, "In continuation of its press release dated 10 May 2026, the National Testing Agency wishes to inform candidates, parents, and members of the public of the following decisions taken in respect of NEET (UG) 2026. NTA had, on 8 May 2026, referred the matters then under consideration to the central agencies for independent verification and necessary action, consistent with its standing commitment to the fair, secure, and credible conduct of the national examinations entrusted to it. On the basis of the inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with the central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies and in order to ensure that there is transparency in the system, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately."

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.

Also read- NEET 2026 paper leak row: Alleged mastermind, 4 aspirants arrested from Dehradun