NEW DELHI, MAY 14 (PTI): The CBI has sought seven days’ police custody of four men arrested in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, alleging that the examination was compromised through circulation of question papers online.
According to the remand application filed before Special Judge (CBI) Ajay Gupta, the accused– Yash Yadav, Mangilal Khatik alias Mangilal Biwal, Vikash Biwal and Dinesh Biwal– were arrested in Jaipur on May 13. CBIalleged that the NEET-UG 2026 exam, conducted on May 3, 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 filed by Department of Higher Education (NTA Division) director Varun Bhardwaj.
The CBI 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 examination.
According to the remand application, one Shubham from Nasik informed Yash Yadav in April that Mangilal had approached him for arranging leaked NEET-UG question papers for his younger son for Rs 10-12 lakh.
The agency alleged that on April 29, Yash Yadav shared leaked Physics, Chemistry and Biology question papers in PDF format through Telegram.
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, relatives and acquaintances.
The CBI further alleged that Vikash Biwal contacted several candidates and shared their details with Yadav through WhatsApp and Instagram for circulation of leaked papers.
The agency claimed incriminating chats, leaked papers and other digital evidence were recovered from the accused persons’ mobile phones, while deleted data would require forensic examination.
Seeking custodial interrogation, the CBI said custody was necessary to identify other accused, trace the source of the leak, analyse digital and financial trails, recover evidence and probe 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,” the agency stated in its remand application.
Friday, May 15, 2026