The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made a significant arrest in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak investigation, apprehending Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilya Nagar, Maharashtra. Lokhande is suspected of playing a crucial role in the alleged racket, specifically providing the leaked question paper to Shubham Khernar, who is already under investigation in the case.
Escalating Investigation into Exam Scandal
This development comes in the wake of the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelling the NEET-UG 2026 examination due to widespread controversy surrounding the alleged leak of the question paper just days before the exam, which was originally scheduled for May 3. The scandal has ignited significant public concern over the security of examinations and the robustness of institutional safeguards, leading to calls for more stringent monitoring and decisive action against those involved.
As the CBI widens its investigation across multiple states, Lokhande's arrest marks a major escalation. Investigators are now meticulously examining his involvement to determine precisely how the question paper was accessed and subsequently distributed within the suspected network.
CBI Teams Deployed in Ahilya Nagar
A dedicated CBI team has been dispatched to Ahilya Nagar to conduct on-ground verification. Their mission includes gathering crucial digital and documentary evidence and identifying any other individuals potentially linked to the operation. Lokhande is expected to undergo further interrogation as the agency works to reconstruct the complete chain of events behind the alleged breach.
Unraveling the Leak's Origins
Investigators believe the trail of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak began on the evening of May 2, merely hours before the examination. It allegedly started with a WhatsApp message containing 300 “guess paper” questions, sent by an MBBS student in Kerala to his father’s mobile phone in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. The message reportedly stated, “My friend from Sikar sent these to me. Please give them to the girls in your hostel. These are the questions that will come tomorrow.”
The father, who worked at a PG hostel, reportedly distributed these papers to students the following morning without verifying their content. Suspicion only arose after the examination. The hostel operator later contacted a teacher at a local coaching institute to confirm the number of questions from the distributed papers that matched the actual NEET examination.
Initial Alerts and Police Action
The findings were alarming. According to investigators, all 90 Biology questions from the NEET examination were allegedly present within a 200-question Biology guess paper. Similarly, all 45 Chemistry questions reportedly appeared within an 81-question Chemistry guess paper. Notably, after 36 unrelated questions, all 45 Chemistry questions appeared in an uninterrupted sequence, with no changes in punctuation. In total, 135 out of 180 NEET questions were allegedly found in the circulated guess papers.
Initially, the PG hostel operator approached the Rajasthan Police, but was reportedly advised not to “spread rumours.” He then directly contacted the NTA, which subsequently informed the Central Intelligence Bureau. This led to the Rajasthan State Special Operations Group (SOG) launching an investigation and detaining approximately 15 individuals, including the hostel operator.
Suspected Source and Circulation Network
Initial findings suggest that the leak may not have originated from the NTA’s internal systems. Instead, investigators suspect the breach occurred either at the Jaipur-based printing press responsible for the paper or involved someone directly involved in setting the examination paper. Evidence collected so far indicates that the guess paper had already reached a counsellor’s mobile phone by April 29, four days prior to the examination.
The allegedly leaked papers are believed to have circulated across several regions, including Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Dehradun, and Kerala. In the early stages of the leak, the papers were reportedly being sold for as much as ₹30 lakh.
Around 15 individuals from Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, and Dehradun have been detained in connection with the procurement and circulation of these papers. Among those named are counsellor Rakesh Kumar Mandawariya from Sikar, accused of sending the papers to the Kerala MBBS student, along with Avinash Lamba and Manish Yadav from Jaipur. Officials have stated that the investigation is ongoing, and further arrests are anticipated as agencies work to dismantle what they suspect is a wider, organized network behind the examination breach.