NEET UG 2026 cancelled: Total arrests rise to 7, role of many NTA officers under scanner — 5 points

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two more accused persons in connection with the alleged irregularities in the paper leak related to the NEET-UG 2026 examination. Total arrests in the case rose to seven.

"Two more accused persons, one from Pune and one from Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, have been arrested in the last 24 hours. The total number of arrests goes up to seven," news agency ANI reported.

The two accused arrested were identified as Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra), and Manisha Waghmare from Pune (Maharashtra).

Five accused were arrested on Wednesday — three from Jaipur, one from Gurugram and one from Nashik. The CBI counsel, Neetu Singh, submitted that the accused Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Maharashtra, and Yash Yadav from Gurugram were arrested in Jaipur.

Earlier, the CBI conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours in connection with alleged irregularities in the paper leak related to the NEET-UG 2026 examination.

Here's all you need to know:

1. The Rouse Avenue court on Thursday granted seven days' custody of five accused arrested in the NEET UG Paper leak case, news agency ANI reported.

The CBI produced the accused Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar, and Yash Yadav before the court. Special Judge (CBI) Ajay Gupta remanded them to CBI custody for seven days. The court had directed the CBI to produce all the accused persons on 20.05.2026.

2. While granting police custody, the court noted, "Allegedly, accused Dinesh Biwal, who is the brother of accused Mangilal and also the relative of accused Yash Yadav, had facilitated the circulation of NEET question paper in conspiracy with the co-accused persons."

The court said that, allegedly, there is a larger conspiracy angle in this case, and that the investigation is at a very nascent stage, ANI reported.

The custody of the accused persons was sought in order to unearth the entire conspiracy, as well as, arrest all the active members of this organised paper leak gang and also for the recovery of all the relevant incriminating material.

The custody of these accused persons is also sought to prevent further tampering with the evidence, as allegedly, some of the accused persons have already deleted the incriminating data from their mobile phones, the court noted.

3. It was alleged by the CBI that Mangilal Bjval contacted Shubham Khairnar through Yash Yadav to obtain the NEET question for Vikas Biwal. Question papers were recovered from the mobile phone of Mangilal Biwal, ANI reported.

Mangilal received the leaked NEET UG Paper from Yash Yadav for a deal of ₹10 lakh. During interrogation, Mangilal's son Vikas Biwal said he came into contact with Yash Yadav during coaching. The CBI alleged that the accused, Dinesh Biwal, is the brother of Vikas Biwal, according to ANI.

It was alleged that Shubham first leaked the paper to Yash, then Yash to Mangilal, to Vikas, to Dinesh Biwal.

4. The CBI on Thursday detained a retired faculty member of a local college in Maharashtra's Latur in connection with a probe into the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak, an official told PTI. Latur city is known as a coaching class hub and attracts students from across Maharashtra.

5. The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.

The CBI is focusing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly competitive examination, officials told PTI.

NEET (UG) 2026 cancelled

The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.

A parent of a student lodged a complaint at the Superintendent of Police's office here on Tuesday, claiming that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute in Latur were identical to those that appeared in the NEET.

According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".

The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)