The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case over an alleged paper leak in this year's national medical entrance examination, the country's most competitive MBBS university admission tests, the agency said on Tuesday.
Top sources said the agency has found a social media group with 400 members, where sample papers were shared in which around 70% questions were similar to those which appeared in the NEET exam.
The agency said that a probe by the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group found a handwritten “guess paper” which is likely a sample or practice question bank containing 281 questions, of which 135 matched questions that appeared in the NEET exam held on May 3.
The federal probing agency filed the case following a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education under India's Ministry of Education, the agency said in a statement.
The complaint alleged that documents related to the NEET-UG 2026 examination were circulated without authorisation before the test was held.
The agency said that the charges registered include criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), India's criminal code, as well as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
“The allegations indicate a possible compromise of the sanctity and integrity of the examination process,” the CBI said, adding that it had formed special teams and dispatched them to multiple locations as part of the inquiry.
The agency said it was committed to a thorough investigation to identify those responsible.
Earlier in the day, a man was detained from Maharashtra's Nashik for his alleged links with the case.
NEET-UG, is held annually to determine admissions to medical colleges across India and attracts millions of candidates each year, making any breach of its integrity a matter of significant public concern.
Last year, the examination was embroiled in a major controversy over alleged paper leaks and irregularities, prompting widespread student protests, parliamentary debate and a Supreme Court hearing