CBI Arrests 5; Conducts Multiple Searches Across Country
New Delhi: CBI has arrested five people and conducted searches at many places across the country as it intensifies its investigation in connection with the NEET UG paper leak case, officials said on Wednesday. The agency added that while it arrested three persons from Jaipur, one from Gurugram and one from Nashik, several other suspects were also being questioned in various cities and could be arrested later.
Among those arrested, 30-year-old Shubham Khairnar from Nashik is being brought to Delhi for further questioning after a local magistrate court granted CBI clearance for him.
Nashik Police detained Khairnar on Tuesday on the request of the Rajasthan Police.
They said the CBI, which took over the investigation on Tuesday, conducted searches at many places across the country based on the clues that emerged.
The CBI has seized several digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, from the suspects and these will be sent for forensic examination to trace messaging apps that may have been used to distribute exam papers, they said.
According to agency sources, the CBI is coordinating with the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG), which is conducting the preliminary investigation into the case.
“CBI is following all leads related to the alleged document leak through thorough technical and forensic analysis and is committed to conducting a thorough, impartial and professional investigation into the matter,” said an official aware of the developments.
The CBI on Wednesday also visited the National Testing Agency (NTA) headquarters to collect documents related to the NEET UG exam, which was canceled following allegations of paper leak, officials said.
It was stated that the team also met with the officials involved in the investigation process.
CBI registered an FIR and NEET UG formed teams to investigate the alleged paper leak case; this resulted in the revocation of the document held on 3 May.
NEET-UG 2026 was conducted in 551 Indian cities and 14 overseas centres. Around 23 lakh candidates registered for the exam conducted by NTA at centers across the country.
According to the NTA, information about the alleged irregularities came on the evening of May 7, four days after the review was conducted. NTA said the inputs were forwarded to central agencies the next morning for “independent verification and necessary action”.
The SOG of the Rajasthan Police claimed that the chemistry “guess sheet” allegedly distributed among students before the exam contained around 410 questions, of which around 120 appeared in the test.
