Hostel Owner in Rajasthan's Sikar Cracks Open NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Investigation

NEET-UG 2026 Examination Cancelled Amid Alleged Leak of Question Paper

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination due to an alleged leak of the question paper. The controversy began after an MBBS student from Rajasthan's Sikar, currently studying in Kerala, sent a "guess paper" PDF to his father just hours before the May 3 examination.

The student's father runs a hostel for coaching students in Sikar, where the MBBS student had previously stayed. He forwarded the PDF to his father on May 2, suggesting it could help any NEET aspirants staying at the hostel. The hostel owner checked with four girls staying at the hostel who were appearing for the exam, but they had already left for the examination centre. He then shared the "guess paper" with a chemistry teacher out of curiosity.

After comparing it with the actual NEET paper, the teacher allegedly found that 45 out of 108 questions matched exactly. A biology teacher was then consulted, and together they found that 90 out of 204 questions were identical. In total, 135 questions reportedly matched the original exam paper.

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The hostel owner and the chemistry teacher approached the local police in Sikar, but police allegedly refused to register a case, arguing that a complaint after the exam could raise suspicion about their intentions. The two later emailed the National Testing Agency (NTA), after which the matter was escalated. The NTA reportedly contacted the Intelligence Bureau and, on May 8, asked Rajasthan's Special Operations Group (SOG) to investigate the case.

The investigation later expanded across several states. Two brothers from Jamwaramgarh near Jaipur allegedly sold the paper to a contact in Sikar. During questioning, they reportedly led investigators to a first-year Ayurveda student in Haryana, who is accused of selling the leaked paper to aspirants in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana for large sums of money.

The probe later reached Maharashtra, where investigators allegedly traced the source to a Nashik student identified as Shubham Khairnar, who was reportedly found with a physical copy of the "guess paper".

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The NTA has announced that the candidates will not need to register again or pay any additional fee, and all existing applications will remain valid. The exam will now be conducted again on revised dates.