On May 3, the NEET UG 2026 examination was held across the country. There are suspicions that the exam paper was leaked beforehand. In Rajasthan, several students were found with handwritten guess papers whose questions match the actual examination.
On May 10, the Rajasthan Special Operation Group, i.e., SOG, acting on intelligence inputs, detained 13 suspects from Dehradun, Sikar, and Jhunjhunu. This includes a career counselor associated with a coaching institute in Sikar.
600 marks out of 720 questions were common
The investigation has revealed that out of 720 marks in the examination, questions worth 600 marks had reached students in Sikar two days before. Actually, a guess paper was sent on May 1 to a friend in Sikar by a student pursuing MBBS from a college in Kerala.
According to the report, a PG operator in Sikar received this paper, who gave it to students staying at his place. Through this means, it reached different people.
The paper has a total of 180 questions to solve and each question carries 4 marks.
Social media chats of all suspects are being scrutinized
SOG is currently investigating the case. The agency is connecting link by link to reach the mastermind. Social media chats and call logs of all suspects are being examined. Actually, this has reached people like a guess paper and SOG is currently investigating whether this should be considered a paper leak or not.
All questions are handwritten
The ‘question bank’ that reached students contains more than 300 questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology. All of these are handwritten and the handwriting is also the same. Out of these, 150 questions appeared exactly in the NEET UG 2026 paper.
According to experts, there is a possibility of some questions appearing exactly from a particular guess paper in the exam, but the possibility of such a large number of questions appearing is generally unlikely.
PG Operator Complained to NTA, On SOG’s Radar
After the NEET exam was conducted, a PG operator from Sikar had lodged a complaint with the National Testing Agency (NTA), the agency conducting the exam, that a so-called ‘question bank’ had been distributed to students. This person is also now on SOG’s radar.
The investigation has confirmed that the PG operator had also received the ‘question bank’ on WhatsApp before the exam, which he forwarded to students staying with him and career counselors.
Government Brought Anti-Paper Leak Law in June 2024
On June 21, 2024, the Anti-Paper Leak Law, i.e., Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, was implemented in the country. The central government had issued its notification at midnight. This law has been brought to prevent cheating and other irregularities in recruitment examinations.
Under this law, leaking papers or tampering with answer sheets will result in a minimum jail sentence of 3 years. This can be extended up to 5 years along with a fine of up to ?10 lakh.
If a service provider appointed for conducting examinations is found guilty, they will face a jail sentence of 5 to 10 years and a fine of up to 1 crore rupees. If the service provider is involved in illegal activities, the cost of the examination will be recovered from them.
This law will include examinations of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) and National Testing Agency (NTA). Recruitment examinations of all central ministries and departments will also be covered under this law. Under this, all offenses will be cognizable and non-bailable.
Exam center will be suspended for causing paper leak
Under the anti-paper leak law, if an exam center’s role is found in any malpractice, that center can be suspended for up to 4 years.
This means that center will not have the right to conduct any government exam for the next 4 years. There is also a provision to attach and confiscate the property of any institution and the cost of the examination will also be recovered from it.
Under the law, any officer not below the rank of DSP or ACP can investigate cases of exam malpractice. The central government has the power to assign the investigation of any case to a central agency.
NTA issued a tweet saying no malpractice has occurred
On May 10, amid reports of NEET paper leak, NTA responded to the controversy on social media platform X (Twitter) saying – The National Testing Agency (NTA) issued a detailed clarification on social media, emphasizing that the exam was conducted ‘under complete security protocol’ and the matter is now subject to investigation by law enforcement.
The National Testing Agency is aware of reports concerning the action initiated by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group in connection with alleged irregularities around NEET (UG) 2026. The following is placed on record for the information of candidates, parents, and the public.National Testing Agency (@NTA_Exams) May 10, 2026
NEET UG 2024 was leaked
NTA conducted the NEET UG exam on May 5. There were serious allegations of paper leak and malpractice in the examination.
On May 6, NTA denied the paper leak. Following this, investigations were conducted in Bihar (Patna) and Jharkhand (Hazaribagh). Evidence of paper leak was found in the investigation and several arrests were also made.
However, the Supreme Court had refused to cancel the entire examination and 1539 candidates were re-examined at some centers. Apart from paper leak allegations, 67 students scoring 720/720 marks and multiple toppers coming from the same center also became a major controversy.
