Student arrested in NEET-UG case, paid Rs 10 lakh for leaked paper: Sources

As many as four teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has been tasked with investigating the paper leak, have arrived in Nashik to take custody of the accused, Shubham Khairnar, who has been arrested by the Nashik Crime Branch.

In Short

• The accused further sold the question paper after buying it: Sources
• 4 teams of the CBI have arrived in Nashik to take him into custody
• The question paper was allegedly bought by him over Telegram

A Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) student has been arrested in Maharashtra's Nashik for allegedly buying the "guess paper" that is at the centre of the 2026 NEET-UG question paper "leak" scandal, sources said on Tuesday.

The accused has been identified as Shubham Khairnar. He allegedly purchased the question paper over Telegram and sold it further to a Haryana-based buyer. Khairnar has been arrested by the Nashik Crime Branch.

As many as four teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has been tasked with investigating the paper leak, have arrived in Nashik to take custody of Khairnar, per news agency ANI.

The fresh arrest in the widening probe has also cast fresh doubts over the earlier theory that the paper was leaked directly from a Nashik printing press, with police sources now saying the exam paper was not printed there.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 3 for students seeking admission to medical education courses at the undergraduate level.

More than a week later, on Tuesday, May 12, the NTA cancelled the examination amid a rapidly escalating controversy over the alleged leak of the question paper and action initiated by the police in Rajasthan.

"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 examination on May 3, 2026 was conducted as scheduled and under a full security protocol," the NTA said in a post on X on May 10.

According to the exam conducting authority, inputs regarding alleged malpractice activity were received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination, and were escalated to central agencies on the morning of May 8 for "independent verification and necessary action".

It further said the action taken by law enforcement authorities, including recent detentions reported in the media, was a result of the "professional and timely work" of the investigating agencies.

The May 12 announcement by the NTA about the cancellation of the 2026 NEET-UG examination followed developments in Rajasthan, where the state police's Special Operations Group had been probing allegations that the entrance test's question paper had leaked just days before the May 3 examination.

According to the SOG probe, details of which emerged over the last two days, a set of handwritten questions, which were purportedly part of a "guess paper" (a question bank meant for last-minute practice) partially matched the actual exam paper.

Around 140 questions, worth 600 marks of the total 720, that appeared in the actual exam were found to be similar to the handwritten paper that circulated two to three days before the examination.

- Ends
(With inputs from agencies)