CBI Traces NEET-UG Paper Leak To MBBS Student In Kerala Who Sent Paper To Father In Rajasthan

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified a Rajasthan-based MBBS student studying at a medical college in Kerala who is linked to the circulation of leaked examination material.

According to officials, the student is currently enrolled at Mount Zion Medical College in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district and a detailed report regarding the student’s role has already been prepared and forwarded as part of the ongoing probe.

Student Sent Question Paper to Father in Rajasthan

CBI confirms that the student received the NEET question paper and forwarded it to his father in Rajasthan. 

He hails from Rajasthan’s Churu district and had earlier come under the scanner of Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), which first uncovered the leak network.

The student’s identity is expected to be officially disclosed soon. 

Leak Trail Linked to Coaching Network

Investigators suspect the handwritten “guess paper” was circulated through a wider network involving coaching-linked intermediaries and career counsellors.

According to SOG sources, the MBBS student allegedly sent the material to an associate in Rajasthan’s Sikar district on May 1, nearly two days before the examination.

Officials claimed the material later spread rapidly through student and coaching networks.

The alleged “guess paper” reportedly contained around 140 questions that matched the actual NEET-UG 2026 paper, accounting for nearly 600 marks out of the total 720.

Investigators also claimed the document included matching answer-option sequences in biology and chemistry sections.

CBI Arrests NTA Insider

The latest development comes amid a widening nationwide probe into the alleged NEET-UG leak conspiracy, which has already led to multiple arrests across different states.

Officials alleged the leaked material was sold for amounts ranging from ₹5 lakh two days before the exam to nearly ₹30,000 a day before the test.

The centre had earlier cancelled NEET-UG 2026 following mounting allegations of malpractice and later handed over the case to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.

The CBI recently arrested senior Botany lecturer Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, who allegedly served as an expert on the National Testing Agency’s paper-setting panel.

According to investigators, Mandhare allegedly had access to the Botany and Zoology sections of the paper and conducted special coaching sessions where specific questions were reportedly dictated to students before the exam.

The agency claimed several of those questions later appeared in the actual NEET-UG paper conducted on 3 May.

Mandhare became the second NTA-linked academic to be arrested after chemistry professor PV Kulkarni, whom investigators have described as a key figure in the alleged leak operation.

PV Kulkarni: NEET Kingpin Arrested By CBI In Pune

PV Kulkarni, arrested from Pune, is a former chemistry professor and ex-principal of Dayanand College in Latur.

After retirement, he reportedly worked with coaching institutes before joining the NTA on a contractual basis as a Chemistry expert.

According to the CBI, Kulkarni allegedly created a PDF version of the confidential NEET Chemistry paper and circulated it through a network involving lecturers, middlemen and coaching operators.

The agency is now conducting raids in multiple locations across Maharashtra as part of efforts to identify more people allegedly linked to the leak network.

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