NEET Question Paper Moved Across States Before Leak, Investigation Finds

The Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group (SOG) on Tuesday said preliminary findings in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case point to a multi-state network stretching from Maharashtra to Haryana and Rajasthan. The investigation has now been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following the cancellation of the national medical entrance examination.

Addressing the media, SOG Inspector General Ajay Pal Lamba said coordinated investigations by police teams from Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Jaipur City and Jaipur Rural districts helped trace the suspected movement of the leaked paper before the examination. According to him, questioning of more than 150 aspirants, along with their friends and parents, indicated that the paper had first reached Rajasthan through a person based in Haryana.

Lamba further said that interrogation of the Haryana suspect revealed that the examination paper had allegedly originated from Nashik in Maharashtra. Following the emergence of these findings, the matter was communicated to the National Testing Agency (NTA), after which the Government of India decided to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination and transfer the probe to the CBI.

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The CBI has since begun coordinating with Rajasthan SOG officials and has taken custody of several suspects connected to the alleged syndicate. Lamba said more than 24 suspects had been presented before the central agency and were being questioned further. He added that, based on the investigation conducted so far, authorities had not found links between the current case and previously identified examination paper leak gangs active in Rajasthan.

Investigators also addressed controversy surrounding a “guess paper” PDF that had circulated before the examination. According to the SOG, the document contained two sets of Chemistry and Biology questions, of which 45 Chemistry questions and 90 Biology questions reportedly matched the actual NEET examination paper along with their answers. Officials clarified, however, that the PDF itself had already been circulating publicly before the exam.

Meanwhile, former acting chairman of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC), Shiv Singh Rathore, issued a statement distancing himself from the recruitment-related controversy linked to the broader investigation. He said he had no involvement in the matter and had fully cooperated with all investigating agencies examining the allegations.

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