The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into the alleged leak of the NEET question paper, conducting searches at multiple locations across the country. Five people, including two brothers from Rajasthan, have been arrested so far, and officials indicated more arrests could follow.
NEET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses, was held on May 3 with around 23 lakh candidates appearing. Complaints that the paper had leaked even before the exam led to the NTA cancelling the test, after which the CBI took over the investigation.
According to preliminary findings, the question paper was printed at a press in Nashik, Maharashtra, and allegedly leaked from there via Rajasthan to other states. A Nashik resident, Shubham Khairnar (30), was arrested in connection with the suspected source of the leak.
Investigators also found the involvement of a doctor based in Gurugram, Haryana. The doctor allegedly received a copy of the printed paper from Khairnar and forwarded it to two businessman brothers—Mangilal Bhiwal and Dinesh Bhiwal—from Jamwa Ramgarh in Rajasthan, who are said to have purchased it for Rs 30 lakh about a week before the exam.
The CBI said one of the brothers sent the paper to his son in Sikar via WhatsApp, after which it was allegedly sold onward through an MBBS admission consultant and then to coaching centre owners. The agency claimed the paper reached over 700 students in Rajasthan and later spread to states including Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Bihar. Electronic devices have been seized from those questioned and sent for forensic analysis, while teams continue raids and questioning, including at the NTA headquarters and among those involved in preparing the paper.
