CBI takes Nashik man into custody in NEET paper leak case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday evening took into custody a man from Nashik in Maharashtra in connection with the alleged NEET paper leak case. Earlier in the day, Crime Branch Unit 2 of the Nashik Police had detained Shubham Khairnar (30), a resident of Nandgaon in the district, following a request from the Rajasthan Police.

He was picked up from the Indiranagar area of Nashik city, Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chauhan said.

The NEET (UG) 2026 examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses, held on May 3, was cancelled on Tuesday amid allegations of a paper leak. The Centre subsequently handed over the probe into the alleged irregularities to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.

Meanwhile, the alleged paper leak may have links extending to Latur in central Maharashtra, where the parent of a student who appeared for the examination lodged a complaint at the office of the Superintendent of Police on Tuesday, a police official said.

According to the complaint, a private coaching institute in Latur had allegedly conducted a mock test for its students before the NEET (UG) 2026 examination. The complaint claimed that as many as 42 questions from the mock test were identical to those asked in the actual NEET examination.

The complaint raised suspicion over the possible involvement of the coaching institute in the wider paper leak network. Taking serious note of the allegations, Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe directed Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sameersingh Salve to conduct an immediate inquiry and initiate legal action against those found guilty.

The Latur police have also appealed to the public to share any information or evidence related to the alleged NEET paper leak case. People with relevant details have been asked to contact SDPO Salve.

Student organisations intensify protest
Meanwhile, student organisations across the political spectrum intensified protests over the issue, demanding action against irregularities in the examination process. The Congress-backed NSUI, Left-backed SFI and RSS-linked ABVP all sought a thorough investigation into the matter.

While NSUI staged protests in Delhi and termed the cancellation of the exam a “victory of students”, SFI accused the NTA of repeated mismanagement and demanded that the agency be scrapped. ABVP also called for a fair and time-bound probe, saying any compromise with the integrity of entrance examinations was unacceptable.

Leaders respond
Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Tikaram Jully accused the Rajasthan government of attempting to suppress the issue to avoid embarrassment. Gehlot claimed that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had informed the Rajasthan Director General of Police about complaints regarding a “guess paper” circulating ahead of the May 3 examination, following which the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) detained around 30 people. However, he alleged that the state government failed to register an FIR or disclose details of the probe. Jully too accused the government of trying to hide the issue for nearly two weeks, calling it a betrayal of lakhs of students.

The BJP rejected the allegations, with Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore claiming that the alleged paper leak had occurred in Kerala and not Rajasthan. He said the Centre acted swiftly by cancelling the NEET-UG examination and handing over the probe to the CBI to protect students’ interests. Earlier, the NTA cancelled the May 3 examination amid allegations of irregularities and announced a fresh exam on dates to be declared later.