A NEET student was arrested in Varanasi on Sunday after a SIM card, old question paper for medical entrance examination and adhesive material were found from his underwear, police said.
The incident occurred at Harishchandra Postgraduate College in Maidagin district, a designated examination centre, before the start of the exam, according to the news agency. PTI.
Security forces became suspicious during the pre-screening search and conducted a detailed search of the candidate, which led to the recovery of items hidden in his underwear.
Follow here for live updates
The student was arrested
The candidate was immediately arrested.
The sources said that during the initial interrogation, the student identified himself as Prince Dube, a resident of the Ballia area.
Dubey told the police that he was staying in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, to prepare for the National Entrance Eligibility Test and had traveled to Varanasi specially to appear for the exam.
Police said further investigations and legal proceedings are underway.
Read also | A NEET student wearing a burqa was allegedly denied entry to retake the exam; Police, NTA respond
20 lakh NEET aspirants showed up
Meanwhile, over 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared for NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on Sunday after the original exam was canceled due to paper leaks, an issue that sparked widespread protests and became a major challenge for the government.
Abhishek Singh, director general of the National Testing Agency (NTA), said the whole-of-government approach enabled the agency to conduct the mega exercise in record time despite criticism that followed the paper leak controversy.
More than 20,000 candidates sat for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination across 5,440 centers in India and 14 centers abroad, NTA said in a statement. The test was conducted in 13 languages, including Hindi and English.
“NTA was not working alone. It was Team Bharat – a chain of people across the country who attended, so that the only thing that mattered to each candidate that morning was the paper in front of them,” the agency said.
7 thousand officials were deployed
“In total, around 7 lakh officials – police teams, invigilators and examination staff – were mobilized across India to conduct this exam, which was done in a record 37 days. NTA is particularly grateful to the experts from academic institutions across the country who gave their personal time to help prepare multiple sets of question papers,” the NTA said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed the arrangements for smooth administration of the re-examination at the NTA headquarters in Okhla in Delhi.
“NTA briefed the Minister on the logistical and technical arrangements that have been put in place to conduct the examination efficiently and transparently,” the Ministry of Education said.
NTA said extensive arrangements have been made for all candidates, including more than 10,000 persons with disabilities.
She added, “Special arrangements have been made for about 81 candidates with medical conditions, including a child who was involved in a traffic accident and a child undergoing chemotherapy. They were determined not to miss the exam that they had prepared for years.”
