AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged Gen Z to ensure that those behind the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak are brought to justice, saying that if the youth in Bangladesh and Nepal could bring political change Indian students could also force accountability.
The origins of the “guess paper” with questions similar to those asked in the exam were traced to a student from Rajasthan's Sikar pursuing MBBS in Kerala on Wednesday, a day after the the national exam for admissions in undergraduate medical courses was cancelled over “irregularities”, throwing the fate of 22 lakh-plus students in limbo.
Citing paper-leak incidents since 2014, Kejriwal said the lapses affected the future of crores of students and alleged that the CBI probe into the NEET paper leak would achieve nothing and that the agency had failed to do anything in previous leaks.
"If Gen Z in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal could change the government, then Indian youth could also ensure accountability in cases of paper leaks," the former Delhi chief minister said.
He alleged that several such incidents had taken place in states ruled by the BJP.
Probe traces guess-paper route
Senior officials of the Rajasthan police’s Special Operations Group said the student from Sikar pursuing MBBS in Kerala had shared the “guess paper” with his friends and a hostel owner.
The document reached several coaching students and later candidates in Jaipur and nearby areas before the exam that was held on May 3, Ajay Pal Lamba, IG, Special Operations Group (SOG), said.
Another official said the student in Kerala forwarded the guess paper to a hostel owner in Sikar and some of his friends. The hostel owner shared the guess paper with students living in the hostel, saying it could be helpful.
However, the hostel owner later tipped off the local police.
Officials said the material was allegedly routed through a person based in Haryana's Gurugram before reaching Rajasthan.
Acting on inputs regarding rumours of a NEET paper leak, joint teams of police from Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Jaipur City, Jaipur Rural and the SOG questioned more than 150 candidates, along with their friends and parents.
"The investigation revealed that the paper had allegedly reached certain individuals in Rajasthan before the commencement of the examination," the official said. .
Lamba said the findings were shared with the National Testing Agency (NTA), following which the Centre decided to cancel the NEET examination. The CBI later took up the case.
A CBI team reached at the SOG’s office late Tuesday evening to take over the investigation.
More than two dozen suspects have been handed over to CBI, officials said, adding further action would depend on evidence emerging during the investigation.
Police said most of the individuals questioned were either NEET aspirants or directly connected to candidates who appeared in the examination.
Investigators also found that the circulated PDF files contained around 45 chemistry questions and 90 biology questions with answers that allegedly matched the actual examination paper.
A social group named 'Private Mafia' was also found in which the password protected PDF was circulated.
‘No direct role of coaching institutes’
Officials said no direct role of coaching institutes has surfaced in the investigation so far.
"The material was circulated in Sikar under the guise of a guess question and was distributed through multiple channels, including a consultant and students," an official said.
The SOG official said no FIR has been registered in Rajasthan and the legal action will be taken by the CBI which is investigating the case.
Meanwhile, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), through lawyer Tanvi Dubey, has moved the apex court seeking a complete overhaul of the national testing framework, including the replacement of the NTA with a more robust and autonomous body.
The plea also referred to news reports that "guess papers" circulating on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram matched more than 100 questions from the actual exam paper.
It urged the top court to direct the government to replace the NTA with a "technologically advanced and autonomous body" to restore the integrity of medical entrance exams.
FAIMA also asked the court to constitute a high-powered monitoring committee, chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge and including cybersecurity and forensic experts, to oversee the re-conduct of the 2026 exam.