As the Center on Tuesday canceled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) held on May 3 and ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, the federal agency’s probe into the 2024 match leak concluded that the paper was leaked at the local level in Jharkhand and that National Testing Agency (NTA) officials had no role in it.
In its investigation in 2024, the federal agency arrested around 50 people, including members of a Bihar-based gang and two of its key members – Baldev Kumar and Aman Singh, employees of a Hazaribagh-based school, solution providers and facilitators, and filed five chargesheets.
The main suspect arrested by Bihar Police in the leak – Sanjeev Mukhiya – was not charged by the CBI as it did not find any evidence against him.
The agency has shared the names of about 153 beneficiaries and medical students who acted as ‘solutionists’ – for which they charged a good amount – with the NTA for action against them. Moreover, she did not find any systemic problems in administering the exam.
“The investigation into the 2024 NEET (UG) leak was concluded in 2024-25 itself. Charges have been filed in the cases and the trial is ongoing,” an officer said, requesting anonymity.
It remains to be seen whether the recent leak reported in Rajasthan is the work of a smaller local gang or an organized network that includes government officials.
Read also:NEET 2026 exam held on May 3 has been canceled due to ‘paper leak’, new date will be notified
According to officials, the CBI is expected to form a special team to investigate the reported leak from Rajasthan. The State Special Operations Group (SOG) has already detained 15 people including training center owners, consultants and analysts.
They were transported in GPS tracking vehicles bearing unique, traceable watermark IDs, while the examination centers were monitored through AI-assisted CCTV surveillance from the central control room, the NTA said in a post on X on Sunday.
“National Testing Agency is aware of reports regarding action initiated by Special Operations Group Rajasthan in connection with alleged irregularities around NEET (UG) 2026. The examination was conducted on May 3, 2026 as scheduled and under complete security protocol,” the NTA said.
It added that inputs regarding the alleged malpractice activity were received on the evening of May 7, after four days of examination, and were escalated to central agencies on the morning of May 8 for “independent verification and necessary action.”
