New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has claimed that three National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts exploited security loopholes to smuggle confidential NEET-UG 2026 examination questions out of the agency’s office before the exam held on May 3, 2026.
According to the chargesheet filed before the Rouse Avenue Court, the accused experts—responsible for translating, back-translating, and proofreading question papers in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics—allegedly used different methods to leak the questions.
The CBI alleges that one expert secretly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions and answer options on small paper slips provided for rough work and concealed them while leaving the confidential section. The other two experts allegedly memorised questions and reconstructed them later, either by writing them down after returning to their accommodation or by marking relevant sections in NCERT textbooks.
Investigators said the alleged leak was made possible due to serious security lapses at the NTA, including the absence of frisking of experts entering or leaving the confidential section and the lack of real-time CCTV monitoring.
The chargesheet also points to inadequate surveillance infrastructure. According to the CBI, the NTA retained only 20–25 days of CCTV footage, meaning recordings from the period when the question papers were being prepared had already been overwritten by the time the investigation began. The agency further noted that there was no dedicated control room to monitor live CCTV feeds inside the confidential section.
The CBI has filed the chargesheet against 13 accused, including the three NTA subject experts, alleged middlemen, and others accused of facilitating the circulation of the leaked question paper. The agency said it has relied on 360 witnesses, 422 documents, and 43 material exhibits as evidence.
The investigation began after the Department of Higher Education lodged a complaint on May 12, 2026, alleging irregularities and a paper leak in the NEET-UG examination. The CBI formed multiple investigation teams, carried out searches at 92 locations across several states, and seized digital devices, documents, and other evidence.
According to the agency, the probe traced the alleged leak from its source to the beneficiary candidates, leading to the arrest of several middlemen and individuals linked to coaching institutes.
Following the controversy, the original NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled, and a re-examination was conducted on June 21 under enhanced security measures.
All 13 accused remain in judicial custody and have been chargesheeted under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
