'Papers Printed, Secured': NTA Chief Deletes Post Praising NEET Exam’s 'Transparency' After Row

Last Updated:May 14, 2026, 09:05 IST

NTA chief Abhishek Singh deleted his earlier LinkedIn post praising the “scale” and “transparency” of NEET-UG 2026 after the exam was cancelled over alleged paper leak allegations.

Days after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination over alleged paper leak allegations, NTA chief Abhishek Singh deleted an earlier LinkedIn post in which he had praised the “scale," “transparency," and operational complexity involved in conducting the country’s biggest medical entrance examination, according to a report by The Print.

The now-deleted post, shared a week earlier after the exam was conducted, described NEET-UG as a “national public-service responsibility" and detailed the extensive arrangements made for the examination held on May 3.

In the post, Singh wrote, “On Sunday, 3rd May 2026, 22.09 lakh candidates wrote NEET (UG) across 5,432 centres in India and 14 centres abroad in a single shift, on pen and paper, with a turnout of 96.92%. What that sentence hides is the machinery behind it."

He further highlighted the security and monitoring mechanisms involved in the examination process.

“Confidential question papers printed, secured, and moved to over 5,400 locations. Biometric authentication of every candidate at the gate. 1,50,000 CCTV cameras with AI-assisted monitoring at four levels. Frisking protocols with separate enclosures for women candidates," Singh had said in the deleted post.

The NTA chief also underlined the coordination required between multiple agencies and authorities for conducting the examination across India and abroad.

“Coordination with state governments, district administrations, police, MEA and Indian embassies abroad, ECIL, BEL, EDCIL, NIC, and hundreds of thousands of invigilators and observers."

“Every one of those layers exists for a reason. Each one also adds friction for a 17-year-old walking into the most important three hours of their life so far," he wrote.

WHAT SINGH SAID AFTER DELETING THE POST

Following criticism and the eventual cancellation of the examination, Singh later shared another statement on LinkedIn explaining why he removed the earlier post.

“I have deleted my post on NEET Examination 2026, which was shared on completion of the Exam last week, when there were no reports of any irregularity and malpractice in the conduct of the examination and subsequent return of all OMRs and examination material back to NTA," he wrote.

He added that the agency had acted immediately after receiving information regarding alleged malpractice.

“As already publicly shared, we did get a whistleblower complaint on 7th May 2026 and enquired into the same immediately and took the tough decision of cancelling the exam and getting a CBI enquiry done," Singh stated.

Acknowledging the distress caused to students and parents, Singh further wrote, “I know it’s a difficult time for students and parents, but it would not have been fair for some scamsters and criminals to take the seats of hardworking students."

He also accepted responsibility for the situation and promised corrective action.

“The test of an institution is not perfection, no institution anywhere is perfect, the test is what the institution does when something goes wrong. I accept the responsibility and make a commitment to fix it. And we will do it," Singh wrote, adding, “Need support of everyone to make that happen. And yes, post deleted as things stand now, we were far from being perfect. But we shall overcome…."

CBI ARRESTS, PROTESTS AND POLITICAL ROW

Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG paper leak intensified with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arresting five persons in connection with the case, PTI reported.

The arrested accused include Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.

Investigators also conducted searches at multiple locations and seized digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, for forensic analysis.

The exam, conducted on May 3 for undergraduate medical admissions, was cancelled by the NTA on Tuesday after allegations of paper leak surfaced.

The development has impacted over 22 lakh candidates and their families, PTI reported.

The report also said protests erupted in several parts of the country, with student organisations and political parties demanding accountability and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Congress workers held demonstrations in multiple states, while student groups, including NSUI, IYC, AISA, ABVP and SFI staged protests over the issue.

Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), which first initiated the probe, traced the origins of a “guess paper" containing questions allegedly similar to those in the actual examination to a student from Rajasthan’s Sikar district studying MBBS in Kerala.

The material was allegedly circulated among coaching students before the examination.

Investigators suspect the leak may have originated from Nashik, sources told PTI.

POLITICAL ALLEGATIONS INTENSIFY

The controversy also triggered a political slugfest after opposition leaders alleged links between some of the accused and the BJP.

PTI reported that Congress leader Ashok Gehlot claimed accused Dinesh Biwal was associated with the BJP, while Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad alleged connections between the accused and BJP leaders.

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

PTI also reported that one of the accused, while being taken for questioning, claimed, “Bade logon ko bachaya jata aur aam aadmi ko pareshan kiya jata hai (Big people are protected, while ordinary people are harassed)."

Amid mounting criticism, Rajasthan minister Jhabar Singh Kharra apologised to students affected by the cancellation and said, “I apologise on behalf of the Government of India, the Rajasthan government and also at a personal level for the hardship caused to hardworking students."

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