The intricate chain of the NEET paper leak case is unravelling by the day. Investigators have now found that two brothers, Mangilal and Dinesh Biwal, from Rajasthan’s Jamwa Ramgarh had allegedly bought this year’s NEET-UG paper from a doctor in Gurugram for Rs 30 lakh on April 26, a week before the exam.
After one of the brothers passed on the paper to his son, who was preparing for the medical entrance test in Sikar, they allegedly sold it to several people on April 29. Sikar, which is a two-and-a-half-hour ride from Jamwa Ramgarh, has turned out to be the epicentre of this year’s paper leak scam.
From Jamwa Ramgarh, the paper was allegedly sold to an MBBS counselling agent, Rakesh Kumar Mandawaria, in Sikar. He allegedly took it forward from there. Operating outside major coaching institutes in the city, Rakesh later sold the paper for Rs 30,000 to one of his aides -- a student from Sikar pursuing MBBS in Kerala.
A day before the exam, the student allegedly sent the paper to his father, a PG operator in Sikar.
“Papa, a friend from Sikar sent this to me. Please give it to the girls in your hostel. This is what will come in tomorrow’s exam,” the message read.
The father then allegedly circulated it among girls staying at the hostel.
The Gurugram doctor is emerging as a key link in the case. Earlier, Rajasthan Police sources told India Today that the leak may have originated directly from the printing press in Nashik before reaching the Gurugram doctor through a “chain network”. It was from this doctor in Gurugram that the brothers allegedly purchased the paper before passing it within their family and selling it to other aspirants.
However, Indian Medical Association (IMA) Gurugram president Dr Rajesh Kataria said that no medical body had yet been contacted by any investigating agency regarding the “doctor from Gurugram.”
Curiously, initial investigations after their arrest revealed that they had known nearly a month in advance that this year’s paper would be leaked. One of the brothers, Dinesh, is also said to be linked to a political party.
Sources also revealed that four children from their family had cleared NEET last year.
In Sikar, students and coaching-college operators had formed WhatsApp and Telegram groups where the paper was circulated. According to sources, the paper travelled from the Nashik printing press to Rajasthan’s Sikar via Haryana and Jamwa Ramgarh. From Sikar, which is emerging as a major hub in the suspected interstate exam leak network, it then spread to Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
Rakesh Kumar Mandawariya, arrested from Dehradun, is alleged to have further distributed the paper to around 700 students. The PDF later spread widely and was even sold in printed form. In Haryana, Yash Yadav, who allegedly sold the paper, has also been arrested.
The NEET (UG) 2026 examination held on May 3 was cancelled on Tuesday amid allegations of a paper leak, with the CBI registering an FIR after the government asked the agency to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses, said fresh dates would be notified in the next seven to 10 days. The cancellation sparked outrage among medical aspirants across the country, with students questioning the NTA's competence and demanding that AIIMS-Delhi be asked to conduct the examination.
The CBI registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita. It also invoked provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination Prevention of Unfair Means Act, 2024.
The agency has sent multiple special teams to different locations and will also collect material from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police. The Rajasthan Police SOG had claimed that a chemistry 'guess paper' allegedly circulated among students before the examination contained around 410 questions, of which roughly 120 appeared in the question paper.
In Maharashtra's Nashik, a man was detained in connection with the alleged paper leak. Nashik Deputy Commissioner of Police Kiran kumar Chauhan said a team of the Rajasthan Police would reach the city to take his custody, reported news agency PTI. The examination has now been cancelled, a fresh schedule is awaited, and the CBI investigation is under way.
