Its a matter of grave concern that prestigious exams like NEET are being compromised as lakhs of students engage themselves for this competitive exam. Any compromise on its sanctity is sure to dishearten many as the future of lakhs depends on it and as such is unacceptable.
The CBI arrested five persons and conducted searches at multiple locations across the country in the NEET UG paper leak case as protests over the cancellation of the examination intensified on Wednesday and the chorus for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation grew louder.
During the day, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) seeking a complete overhaul of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and its replacement with a “technologically advanced and autonomous body” to restore the integrity of medical entrance exams.
The CBI arrested Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik with several others suspects being quizzed in various cities and might be arrested later, officials said.
A political blame game also erupted with the Congress and the TMC claiming some of the arrested were associated with the BJP. Several social media handles shared photographs purportedly showing Dinesh with BJP leaders and ministers from Rajasthan.
Family members of Dinesh said he and his brother were detained by police for questioning and claimed that they were being falsely implicated.
The NEET (UG) 2026 exam for admissions in undergraduate medical courses held on May 3 was cancelled by the NTA on Tuesday amid allegations of paper leak which is now being probed by the CBI. The cancellation of the exam has left over 22 lakh medical aspirants and their families in a lurch.
On Wednesday, protests were held at many places.
Rajasthan Police’s Special Operation’s Group (SOG), which initiated the probe into the leak, found that the origins of a guess paper containing questions similar to those asked in the exam were traced to a student from Sikar district pursuing MBBS in Kerala who went on to share it with his friends and a hostel owner.
Among the arrested, key accused Khairnar (30) is being brought to Delhi for further questioning after a local magistrate court sent him to transit remand of the agency.
Yadav, a resident of Khera village in Farrukhnagar area of Gurugram, is a first-year BAMS student, police sources said. He lived in Sikar, where he attended coaching classes and it is believed that he came into contact with some people there, they said.
The CBI, during the searches, seized a number of digital devices including mobile phones, laptops etc from the suspects which will be sent to for forensic examination to get a trail of messaging applications on which the papers were circulated.
Earlier, the CBI visited the NTA headquarters in Delhi to collect documents related to the NEET UG examination.
Police in Maharashtra’s Latur district questioned six persons including some coaching class staff. Latur city is known as a coaching class hub and attracts students from across Maharashtra.
The Whatsapp forward that started it all
The investigation began in Rajasthan’s Sikar district after a local hostel owner and teacher, 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 received a WhatsApp message before the examination in which “a few questions matched” the actual NEET paper.
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.
Bigwigs are being protected!
One of the accused arrested by the CBI in connection with the NEET UG 2026 paper leak case alleged that “big people” involved in the racket were being protected even as smaller players were being targeted by the investigators.
The remark was made when the accused were being taken out after being produced before a magistrate at his residence in Jaipur under heavy security arrangements.
As media persons attempted to question the accused seated inside the vehicle, one of them shouted: “Bade logon ko bachaya jata hai aur aam aadmi ko pareshan kiya jata hai (Bigwigs are being protected while ordinary people are being harassed)” as reported by news agency PTI.
