The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police has initiated an investigation into alleged malpractices in the NEET (UG) 2026 examination, following inputs received by the National Testing Agency (NTA) from Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The inputs pertained to question sets circulated before the May 3 exam that reportedly overlapped with the actual question paper.
Details of the Investigation
Additional Director General of Police (SOG) Vishal Bansal stated that investigators discovered a set of over 400 questions circulated days before the exam, with more than 100 biology and chemistry questions showing "striking similarities" to those asked in NEET. Bansal described the material as a "guess paper" or test series, but sources indicated that a deeper nexus has not been ruled out, citing searches and questioning conducted across several cities in Rajasthan and in Dehradun.
Social Media and Coaching Academy Links
Similar videos and copies of test-series question papers were also shared on social media from a coaching academy in Latur, Maharashtra. Amol Tambe, Superintendent of Police in Latur, told TOI that police have not yet started any investigation into the matter.
NTA's Response
In a press release on Saturday, the NTA stated that the May 3 exam was conducted under a "full security protocol" and proceeded normally across all centers. The agency said that 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 examination process itself proceeded as planned across all centres on the day," the statement read.
The NTA also emphasized that the "effort and integrity of the very large majority of bona fide aspirants is not in question, and will not be devalued." It added that any further decision would be taken after investigating agencies submit their findings to the Ministry of Education.
Current Status of the Probe
Sources indicated that the matter remains under verification and no formal First Information Report (FIR) has been registered yet. An official stated, "Around 100-odd questions related to chemistry and biology appear to have matched the NEET paper." SOG teams have conducted searches and field inquiries in multiple locations, including Sikar, Rajasthan's coaching hub.
