New Delhi: The CBI has arrested five people and is conducting searches at multiple locations across the country in connection with the NEET UG paper leak case as the agency intensified its investigations, officials said on Wednesday.
The agency has arrested three individuals from Jaipur, one from Gurugram and one from Nashik, while several other suspects are being interrogated in different cities and may be arrested later, they added.
Among those arrested, 30-year-old Shubham Khairnar from Nashik was brought to Delhi for further interrogation after the local magistrate court granted him remand.
Nashik police arrested Khairnar on Tuesday at the request of Rajasthan police.
After taking over the investigation on Tuesday, the CBI is conducting searches at multiple locations across the country based on the emerging leads, they said.
They said the CBI has seized several digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, from the suspects, which will be sent for forensic examination to trace messaging apps that may have been used to distribute exam papers.
According to agency sources, the CBI is coordinating with the Rajasthan Special Operations Group, which conducted a preliminary investigation into the case.
“The CBI is following up on all leads related to the alleged paper leak through extensive technical and forensic analysis and remains committed to conducting a thorough, impartial and professional investigation into the matter,” an official familiar with the developments said.
The CBI on Wednesday also visited the headquarters of the National Testing Agency to collect documents related to the NEET UG exam, which was canceled after allegations of paper leak, officials said.
They added that the team also spoke with officials involved in the screening process.
The CBI registered an FIR and formed teams to investigate the alleged NEET UG paper leakage case, leading to the cancellation of the paper held on May 3.
NEET-UG 2026 exam was conducted in 551 Indian cities and 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23,000 candidates registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centers across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding the alleged misconduct was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was conducted. The inputs were escalated to central agencies the next morning for “independent verification and necessary action”, NTA said.
The SOG of Rajasthan Police claimed that the Chemistry ‘guess paper’, which was allegedly circulated among students before the exam, contained nearly 410 questions, including nearly 120 questions that appeared in the exam.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
