Kerala/Sikar: NEET UG Exam 2026: In another controversy related to India’s largest medical entrance test NEET UG 2026, the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police is now investigating if the “guess paper” circulated prior to the test was either a leak or a well-oiled cheating racket.
According to information received, a “guess paper” consisting of 150 questions matching exactly with the actual exam (carrying 600 marks against a total of 720) reached students in Sikar, Rajasthan, two days prior to the May 3 exam.
Cross-country links between Kerala medical student and Sikar hostel owner
The digital investigation led by the SOG has exposed a connection between the suspect and a youth studying at a medical college in Kerala.
Medical college student sent question bank link on May 1
The suspect, as alleged, sent a “question bank” link to a friend in Sikar through social media just two days prior to the NEET exam.
Viral spread: It is said that the link reached the owner of a PG (Paying Guest) hostel, who then distributed it to other career counselors and students.
Evidence: According to sources, there were more than 300 handwritten questions in the guess papers covering three subjects—Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Interestingly, it has been found out that all 90 Biology questions and 45 Chemistry questions appearing in the NEET exam were similar to those in the guessing papers.
Investigation: 13 arrested from three states
On receiving inputs from the Intelligence Bureau, the SOG launched an operation, arresting 13 suspects in Dehradun, Sikar, and Jhunjhunu.
Main suspect: Among them is Rakesh Kumar Mandawaria, an operator of a consultancy office in Sikar. The police are now probing into his past and his social media links with influential people.
Whistleblower: This entire case was brought to notice when a PG hostel owner observed the similarities in question papers and informed the police. As the police at first denied it, he then informed NTA that led to IB and SOG operations.
‘No evidence of a traditional leak’: SOG ADG
Even with a high percentage of correlation, it must be noted that Vishal Bansal, Additional Director General (ADG) of the SOG, has said that at this stage, there is no indication that it can be confirmed as a “leak” in a conventional form.
“It cannot be a leakage when a paper is leaked, then it won’t be shared in such an open way as a ‘guess paper’. We are investigating whether this is a case of organized cheating or conspiracy behind which there is a question bank with very high accuracy.” ADG Bansal continued saying that although 15 people had been taken into custody, no arrests have been made yet.
Integrity of the test process – NTA position
The National Testing Agency (NTA) claims that the test has been successfully held under stringent security conditions. As it has been mentioned earlier, here is the NTA statement on X (former Twitter):
- Transported in GPS-enabled vehicles.
- Surveillance through AI-based CCTVs at centers and central control rooms.
- Jammers and biometric authentication for each participant to prevent impersonation.
- Question papers with unique watermarks.
- Exam conducted peacefully at all centers on 3rd May.
Implications and worries
This event has resulted in a lot of stress on millions of students and their parents. At the moment, the SOG is investigating social media conversations, telephone calls, and instant messaging to see whether this “guess paper” was just a coincidence or one element of a bigger problem.
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