The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the 2026 undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test following allegations of a paper leak.
The NEET-UG examination, conducted on May 3, is the entrance test for admission to undergraduate medical courses in India.
The National Testing Agency, the body that conducts the examination, has announced that the test will be re-conducted, and the dates for it will be notified separately.
The cancellation came even as the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the exam contained questions closely matching the actual paper.
The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group Additional Director General Vishal Bansal told The Economic Times.
More than 45 persons have been detained in the state as part of the investigation, India Today reported.
On Tuesday, the police in Maharashtra’s Nashik took a person accused in the matter into custody, The Hindu reported.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Nashik City) Kiran Kumar Chavan told the newspaper that a request had been received from the Rajasthan Police about a person allegedly involved in the case.
The Crime Branch took the accused person into custody and will hand him over to the Rajasthan Police upon their arrival, Chavan said.
The accused man is reportedly from Nandgaon village in the district and is said to be pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, The Hindu reported.
On Sunday, the National Testing Agency had maintained that the May 3 test had been conducted under “full security protocol”.
While announcing the cancellation on Tuesday, the agency said that the decision had been taken after a preliminary investigation by the law enforcement authorities showed that the integrity of the examination process “could not be allowed to stand”.
The Union government has referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the statement added.
The agency said it would “extend full cooperation” to the CBI and provide all records and material required for the investigation.
It also clarified that candidates would not need to register again for the re-examination and that their existing candidature details and preferred examination centres would be retained.
No additional examination fee would be charged, and fees already paid by students would be refunded, it added.
The 2024 exam was also hit by allegations of paper leaks and irregular grace marks, leading to nationwide protests and a hearing in the Supreme Court.
Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava
Also read: Why the National Testing Agency continues to fail students in India
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