A fresh controversy has erupted around NEET 2026 after investigators probing an alleged paper leak found that a guess questionnaire circulated among students in Rajasthan’s Sikar allegedly matched a significant portion of the actual exam paper, raising fears of another breach in India’s biggest medical entrance test.
According to sources linked to the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) probe, nearly 600 out of the 720 questions in the NEET exam held on May 3 bore similarities to questions circulated in advance among some students. Investigators are now trying to determine whether the material was merely an unusually accurate “guess paper” or part of an actual leak of the question bank before the examination.
The controversy has intensified because investigators claim even the sequence of answer options in several questions matched the material shared before the exam. Sources said the alleged questionnaire first surfaced in Sikar two days before NEET and was sold to students for prices ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh. By the night before the examination, copies were allegedly being circulated for around Rs 30,000 each.
The SOG investigation has traced the suspected document to a Churu-based MBBS student currently studying at a medical college in Kerala. He allegedly shared the material with a friend in Sikar on May 1, after which it spread rapidly through PG accommodations, coaching-linked networks, career counsellors and aspirants preparing for the exam.
Investigators claim the material included more than 300 handwritten questions from physics, chemistry and biology, with the handwriting appearing identical throughout the document. Around 140 questions are said to have matched exactly with those in the final exam. Since each NEET question carries four marks, investigators believe the overlap could have had a major impact on rankings and admissions if the allegations are proven true.
The probe has also revealed extensive circulation through encrypted messaging platforms and social media. Some chats recovered from mobile phones carried the “forwarded many times” tag, suggesting the material may have reached a large number of candidates before the exam. Officials are also examining whether printed copies were distributed offline.
A PG operator in Sikar has come under scrutiny after investigators found he had allegedly received and forwarded the material before later filing a complaint with police and the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the exam. Investigators suspect the complaint may have been an attempt to shield himself once fears of exposure grew.
The NTA is now awaiting the outcome of the Rajasthan SOG probe before taking a call on further action. The investigation is focusing on the scale of the network, the source of the alleged question bank and whether any organised racket was involved.
The allegations have revived memories of the massive NEET controversy in 2024, when claims of paper leaks, inflated marks and irregularities triggered nationwide protests by students and opposition parties. That controversy led to Supreme Court hearings, Opposition attacks on the Centre and questions over the functioning of the NTA after allegations emerged that leaked papers had circulated in Bihar before the exam.
Although the Supreme Court had declined to order a complete re-examination at the time, it acknowledged lapses in the conduct of the test and directed reforms to strengthen the examination process.
