New Delhi, May 14: The CBI on Thursday secured the custody of five persons arrested in the NEET-UG exam leak case and apprehended two more suspects as officials said the agency is also looking into possible role of any insider in the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the irregularities.
The court which granted CBI the custody of the five accused for seven days said the allegations revealed the role of an “organised gang” involved in leaking and circulating confidential examination papers for monetary gain.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, a 21-year-old NEET aspirant hanged himself in his house in Gangotrinagar locality over the cancellation of the exam, his father claimed.
This was Mishra’s third NEET attempt, and he was highly confident of clearing the exam this time, his father said.
Police said no suicide note was recovered from the room where Ritik’s body was found hanging.
During the day, protests continued at several parts of the country demanding immediate scrapping of the NTA and the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
In Ahmedabad, Pradhan was greeted with black flags by members of the Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) when he arrived at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) to chair a coordination forum meeting of IIMs.
The protesters also demanded his resignation over the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper leak case.
The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding strict action against those involved in the paper leak and seeking a shift to a computer-based format for the medical entrance test.
The NEET (UG) 2026 exam for admissions in undergraduate medical courses held on May 3 was cancelled by the NTA on Tuesday amid allegations of paper leak. The cancellation of the exam has left over 22 lakh medical aspirants in uncertainty.
Addressing reporters here, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the government has taken up the NEET paper leak case with “great seriousness and sensitivity” and assured students and parents of strict action against all those involved.
“No one will be spared, especially this exam mafia that is attempting to toy with the future of our children. Absolutely no one will be spared,” he asserted.
Calling the issue “sensitive and distressing”, Patra said it concerns not only 22 lakh students, but also the sentiments of their parents.
The CBI, which is probing the case, has arrested two more persons in connection with the paper leak. Dhananjay Lokhanda was arrested from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune.
The role of several officers of the NTA and other organisations having access to the printing press where NEET UG papers were printed have come under the scanner, officials said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak, they said.
According to the CBI investigation so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak could not be ruled out.
During the day, Special CBI judge Ajay Gupta sent the five persons arrested earlier to seven days’ CBI custody.
Gupta was hearing a CBI plea to interrogate all the five accused for seven more days in the case to unearth the whole conspiracy.
The five arrested – Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, and Yash Yadav from Gurugram – were taken into custody by the agency after a transit remand was secured from different states.
In a remand plea, the agency alleged that the exam was compromised after questions were circulated in PDF format through WhatsApp and Telegram before the exam.
An FIR was registered on May 12 on a complaint by Department of Higher Education (NTA Division) director Varun Bhardwaj.
Special Public Prosecutor VK Pathak and Special Public Prosecutor Neetu Singh informed the court that an inquiry by Rajasthan’s Special Operations Group (SOG) had reportedly confirmed the authenticity of some leaked questions, following which the government cancelled the exam.
“In April 2026, one Shubham of Nasik informed Yash Yadav that Mangilal had approached him for arranging leaked NEET UG 2026 question papers before the examination for his younger son for 10-12 lakhs,” Pathak said.
The agency claimed that on April 29, Yash Yadav shared the leaked Physics, Chemistry and Biology question papers in PDF format through Telegram.
According to the CBI, Mangilal allegedly received the leaked papers from Yadav as part of a Rs 10 lakh deal and distributed printed copies to NEET aspirants, including his son Aman Biwal, and his relatives and acquaintances.
The agency also alleged that Vikash Biwal contacted several candidates and shared their details with Yadav through WhatsApp and Instagram for the circulation of leaked papers.
“On April 29, 2026, Shubham allegedly informed Yash Yadav that he would provide leaked question papers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology papers, which will have approximately 500-600 questions capable of securing around very good marks, which can ensure admission in reputed medical colleges,” it said.
The CBI said incriminating chats, leaked question papers, and other digital evidence were recovered from the mobile phones of the accused, while some deleted data would require forensic examination.
Seeking custodial interrogation, the agency told the court that police custody was necessary to identify other accused, trace the source of the leak, analyse digital and financial trails, recover evidence and probe the possible involvement of NTA officials.
“The purpose of conducting investigation, the arrested accused persons are required to be taken under police custody for custodial interrogation to prevent further commission of similar offences involving leakage of question papers, to identify and apprehend other co-accused persons involved in the offence,” the CBI said in a remand copy. (PTI)
