States across the country beefed up security and surveillance measures on Saturday ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, with authorities conducting drills, deploying cyber teams and arranging special transportation facilities for candidates, to ensure a smooth, safe and transparent conduct of the medical entrance test, officials familiar with the developments said.
More than 2.27 million aspirants are expected to take the exam on Sunday, nearly seven weeks after the original test was canceled following allegations of a paper leak. The re-test will be held from 2 pm to 5.15 pm across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad.
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Question papers arrived at the district strong rooms under heavy police and paramilitary guard on Saturday, a day after air force helicopters dropped sealed bundles of examination papers at the district headquarters.
Officials said the papers are being stored under a three-tier security arrangement, and surveillance cameras, signal jammers and biometric verification systems have been deployed at the centres. In order to eliminate any possibility of leakage, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has prepared multiple sets of question papers and will decide which set will be distributed on the exam day, officials said.
In Rajasthan, state-level exercises were held on Saturday to review security arrangements.
In Jaipur, local intelligence agencies and police questioned nearly 30 people who were previously involved in examination malpractices.
“No one has been arrested. We have questioned them to find out the possibility of any misconduct,” a police officer said.
Hours before the exam, police in Ajmer received a complaint alleging an attempt to sell NEET question paper via video calls. ASP Himanshu Jangid said the cyber team has initiated an investigation and urged students not to fall prey to fraudulent claims.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced the deployment of 38 cyber commandos to monitor social media for circulation of fake question papers, leak rumors and suspicious online activities.
In Uttar Pradesh, police forces have been deployed on a large scale and a temporary control room has been set up in Lucknow for real-time monitoring.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced free bus travel for candidates and special cooling zones outside examination centres. “The Delhi government has ensured that no family faces unnecessary difficulties related to transportation, heating or long waiting hours on the exam day,” Gupta said.
In Bihar, the Economic Offenses Unit (EOU) has intensified surveillance on individuals previously linked to examination fraud. In Jharkhand, district administrations conducted drills and imposed restrictions around examination centres.
In Jamshedpur, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita have been imposed within a 200-metre radius of all the eight examination centres.
“Carrying mobile phones and electronic devices to the centers is strictly prohibited,” said Rajiv Ranjan, deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum. Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar reviewed the preparations with the district collectors on Saturday.
(With inputs from state offices)
