NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: CBI arrests 5 as Opposition steps up attack on BJP

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested five people in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case. Four of the accused were produced before a magistrate in Jaipur before being taken to New Delhi on a one-day transit remand.

The CBI arrested Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik. Several other suspects are being questioned in various cities and may be arrested later, officials said. Khairnar, arrested on May 12, is being brought to Delhi for further questioning after a local magistrate court granted the agency a transit remand.

The NEET-UG 2026 exam, held on May 3 for admissions to undergraduate medical courses, was cancelled on Tuesday amid allegations of paper leak. The cancellation has left over 22 lakh medical aspirants and their families in uncertainty.

WHAT THE CBI PROBE HAS FOUND

The CBI investigation has uncovered a chain of alleged links involving multiple individuals and transactions across states.

Mangilal Biwal and Dinesh Biwal are brothers, while Vikas Biwal is Dinesh's son, who was preparing for NEET in Sikar, officials said.

Investigators allege that Dinesh, who is purportedly linked with the BJP, purchased the question paper on April 26-27 for around Rs 30 lakh. The claim is currently under verification.

The paper was allegedly procured for Vikas and was later circulated and sold in soft-copy form to other aspirants in Sikar. The probe has also revealed that four members of the same family have cleared NEET in previous years.

Separately, Khairnar is said to have received the paper from Pune, which he then passed on to Yadav, sources said.

The CBI has seized a number of digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, from the suspects. These will be sent for forensic examination to trace the messaging applications on which the paper was allegedly circulated.

CBI TAKES OVER FROM SOG

A CBI team arrived at the SOG office late Tuesday evening to take charge of the investigation.

According to Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group, which initiated the probe, the origins of a guess paper containing questions similar to those in the exam were traced to a student from Sikar district pursuing MBBS in Kerala. The student shared it with friends and a hostel owner in Sikar.

The hostel owner distributed the paper among students at the hostel, saying it could be helpful. He later tipped off local police, informing them that a question bank had been distributed among many students.

PROBE WIDENS

Acting on inputs, joint teams from Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Jaipur City, Jaipur Rural and the SOG questioned more than 150 candidates along with their friends and parents on Wednesday.

In Maharashtra, police in Latur district questioned six persons, including coaching class staff.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer Sameersinh Salve said the questioning followed a complaint by a parent who alleged that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute in Latur were identical to those that appeared in the NEET exam.

'THEY ARE INNOCENT'

Family members of the arrested accused maintained their innocence. Dinesh's mother, Prabhu Devi, said her sons had been falsely implicated and that she had contacted the local MLA after they were taken by police.

"My sons are innocent. They have been falsely implicated. I called the MLA and asked him to see why he was taken," she said. Dinesh's wife Rajni also denied her husband's involvement, saying she had been in Sikar with her son for NEET preparations.

One of the accused, while being taken to Delhi, alleged that influential people were being shielded. "Bade logon ko bachaya jata aur aam aadmi ko pareshan kiya jata hai (Big people are protected, while ordinary people are harassed)," he said.

POLITICS OVER ALLEGED BJP LINK

The arrests triggered a political blame game, with the Congress and the TMC claiming some of those arrested were associated with the BJP. Several social media accounts shared photographs purportedly showing Dinesh with BJP leaders and ministers from Rajasthan.

However, BJP state vice president Mukesh Dadhich denied that Dinesh held any post in the party.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal held a press conference urging students to demand accountability, citing paper leak incidents since 2014 and alleging that several such incidents had occurred in BJP-ruled states. He also urged Gen Z to wake up and fight against injustice and the misrule of the Centre.

PROTESTS CONTINUE

Congress workers staged demonstrations across several states, burning effigies of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the paper leak.

Student wings of several parties, including the NSUI, IYC and AISA, also demanded Pradhan's resignation.

ABVP and SFI members staged separate protests, with ABVP calling for strict action against those responsible and greater transparency in the conduct of competitive examinations.

- Ends