NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, investigators have arrested multiple people across the country, from Nashik to Dehradun to Rajgir, and uncovered a well-organized multi-state network of at least 45 people spanning Maharashtra, Kerala, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.The investigation uncovered a network involving problem solvers, impersonators, coaching center counselors and even Bachelor of Internal Medicine students.
Nashik arrested: Medical student detained
A medical student from Nashik, Maharashtra, has been arrested in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The student, Shubham Khairnar, a MBBS student from Bhopal, allegedly obtained a paper copy of the ‘guess’ question paper in Nashik a few days before the May 3 exam and forwarded an electronic copy to a person in Haryana.
“A request to arrest one person was received from the Rajasthan police this morning. The Nashik Police Crime Branch-II has arrested one person,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chauhan said. A team of the Rajasthan Police will arrive in the city to take him into custody.The Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) had earlier said that the “speculative” document was leaked from a printing press in Nashik and was used in Haryana or Rajasthan.
Arrest in Rajgir: Cash, multiple admission tickets confiscated
On the day of the exam, the police in Rajgir, Bihar, discovered a key clue. Rajgir DSP Sunil Kumar Singh said that on May 3, the police found two vehicles while checking the vehicles.“The person driving the car claimed to be an MBBS student and had a wad of cash in the car. After checking their mobile phones, we found multiple admission tickets. Three people have been arrested,” Singh said.The arrests come at a time when police are on high alert based on intelligence inputs.
Dehradun arrest: ‘Mastermind’
The Rajasthan Police SOG arrested five persons from Dehradun on May 7, including the alleged mastermind Rakesh Kumar, a career counselor in Thika. The next day, four NEET aspirants were arrested.Rakesh Kumar allegedly received a question bank containing 410 questions from a candidate in Kerala. 150 of the questions correspond to the actual NEET exam held on May 3. He initially sold the paper for Rs 5 lakh and later reduced the price to Rs 30,000 per candidate as the exam date approached.A counselor at a coaching center in Sikar has also been detained for allegedly paying Rs 5 lakh to buy “guess” papers and selling them to NEET aspirants through WhatsApp.The handwritten “guess” papers matched 120 of the 150 biology and chemistry questions in the original papers.
what the investigation found
A senior SOG official said the investigation uncovered a well-organized nationwide network that included paper solvers and impersonators.The SOG has so far interrogated 13 suspects from Dehradun, Sikar and Junjunu in connection with the case.The national testing body on Tuesday canceled the NEET-UG 2026 exam, affecting more than 22 lakh candidates. The federal government has referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for full investigation.The NTA said the decision was taken “in order to maintain transparency and maintain trust in the national examination system”.
