NEET Exam Paper Circulated On WhatsApp 42 Hours Before Exam; Probe Launched: Report

New Delhi: The NEET UG exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 3, is reportedly under scrutiny after a suspected paper leak. The Special Operations Group (SOG) has arrested 13 suspects in Sikar, Jhunjhunu, and Dehradun.

The SOG has taken them to Jaipur. The team is currently questioning the suspects. It is possible that more suspects may be arrested in this case, according to a Dainik Bhaskar report.

Additional DGP (SOG) Vishal Bansal stated that the probe has revealed a set of over 400 questions circulated days before the exam, with more than 100 biology and chemistry questions showing “striking similarities” to the questions that had come in NEET.

Bansal described it as a “guess paper” or test series, but The Times of India, citing sources, reported that a deeper nexus has not been ruled out.

The guess paper was sent to students' WhatsApp messages 42 hours before the NEET exam began, reported Dainik Bhaskar.

Earlier on Saturday, the NTA said in a press release that the May 3 exam was conducted under a “full security protocol” and proceeded normally across centres.

The NTA said suspicious inputs were received late on May 7 and were escalated to central agencies the next morning for “independent verification and necessary action”. Without referring to detentions or raids, the NTA said it was “cooperating fully with investigators” and sharing exam-related data and technical inputs.

The decision on whether the paper should be considered leaked will be made after consultation with experts and the NTA.