The Centre ordered a CBI probe; Rajasthan SOG arrested two alleged masterminds after recovering a 120-question 'guess paper' that mirrored the actual exam taken by 22.79 lakh students.
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On May 12, 2026 the National Testing Agency annulled the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3, instantly invalidating scores for over 22.79 lakh candidates who sat the country's only undergraduate medical-entrance test. The cancellation came after Rajasthan's Special Operations Group recovered a handwritten 'guess paper' carrying roughly 120 questions โ about 90 Biology, 30 Chemistry โ that matched the actual exam. The Centre handed the case to the CBI and arrested Manish Yadav and Rakesh Mandavriya as alleged masterminds. Bihar police separately busted a parallel 'solver gang' in Nalanda. NTA says fresh admit cards will be issued; no re-registration is required.
The trigger was a raid by Rajasthan's Special Operations Group that turned up a handwritten 'guess paper' of roughly 120 items, of which about 90 Biology and 30 Chemistry questions turned out to be near-verbatim matches with the actual NEET-UG paper sat on May 3. SOG arrested Manish Yadav and Rakesh Mandavriya, presented as the network's masterminds. NTA had already referred the suspicions to central agencies on May 8; once SOG's match-rate was confirmed, the agency told the government the May 3 result was unsalvageable. The cancellation order followed four days later.
Three institutions now own the file. NTA owns the cancellation and the re-test logistics; it has said candidates need not re-register and that fresh admit cards will go out on revised dates. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed Parliament defending the decision โ Opposition benches called it an admission of systemic failure. The CBI has taken over the criminal probe from Rajasthan SOG, which is still pursuing intermediaries. And Bihar Police's Nalanda unit has independently busted a 'solver gang' that ran in parallel to the Rajasthan operation, broadening the geography of the leak from one state to at least two.
Chronology
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Over 22.79 lakh candidates sat NEET-UG 2026 across centres in every state on May 3, 2026. Within hours, social-media posts and Telegram channels showed scanned 'guess papers' with question matches that aspirants flagged to NTA.
On May 8, NTA formally referred its internal suspicions of paper-leak to central investigating agencies, citing pattern-matches between candidate-submitted screenshots and the actual May 3 paper. The referral cleared the way for Rajasthan SOG and central teams to coordinate.
Rajasthan Special Operations Group recovered a handwritten 120-question 'guess paper' โ about 90 Biology and 30 Chemistry items that matched the actual exam โ and arrested Manish Yadav and Rakesh Mandavriya. The match-rate became the legal trigger for cancellation.
On May 12, NTA issued an official notice cancelling NEET-UG 2026 and announcing a re-test. The Centre simultaneously ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the leak. NTA said candidates need not re-register and that fresh admit cards will be issued on revised dates.
Bihar Police's Nalanda unit busted a parallel 'solver gang' operating alongside the Rajasthan network, broadening the leak's geography. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed Parliament defending NTA's decision; the Opposition demanded the minister's resignation.
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For the 22.79 lakh candidates who walked into examination halls on May 3, every minute of preparation, every coaching-class fee and every borrowed study guide is now suspended โ they will have to sit the test again on a date NTA has yet to confirm. The strain has already turned tragic: a 17-year-old aspirant in Goa took her life after the cancellation was announced; AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal visited the family. State medical colleges, which begin counselling rounds in July, face a shifted intake calendar. Re-prep costs, coaching extensions and exam-anxiety counselling have become household conversations across India.
Three threads will unfold in the coming weeks. NTA must publish re-NEET 2026 dates without re-opening registrations; expect a window between mid-June and late July. The CBI's probe is widely expected to produce arrests beyond Rajasthan and Bihar โ Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra coaching networks are already being scrutinised. And the Supreme Court is hearing writ petitions seeking either a complete NTA overhaul or a pen-and-paper format with state-level paper-handling protocols. A panel chaired by a former ISRO scientist had already been recommended in earlier leak cycles; this incident will force its terms of reference to be widened.