Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar downplayed the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination
JAIPUR: Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar downplayed the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination amid allegations of a nationwide paper leak, saying the decision was “not a big issue” if irregularities had indeed taken place.“The investigating agencies must have found irregularities, so cancelling it is not a big issue. Wherever any wrongdoing is found, the government will work to correct it,” Dilawar said while reacting to the Centre’s decision to scrap the May 3 medical entrance examination and hand over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
His remarks came even as the alleged paper leak triggered a political storm in Rajasthan, with Congress leaders accusing the BJP-led state government of trying to suppress information about the case to avoid embarrassment.Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the Rajasthan government had prior information about the leak but failed to act decisively. He claimed the National Testing Agency (NTA) had alerted the Rajasthan DGP after receiving complaints from students regarding circulation of a suspicious “guess paper” before the exam.“The students started complaining about the paper leak the day after the May 3 examination. They wrote to NTA. The NTA was convinced about the complaints and cancelled the examination and handed over the case to the CBI. The Rajasthan SOG had not even registered a case,” Gehlot said.He further alleged that the state government attempted to “hide the matter” despite Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) detaining several suspects during the initial stages of the probe.Leader of opposition Tikaram Jully also attacked the state government, accusing it of suppressing the issue for nearly two weeks. “Instead of exposing the truth, the Rajasthan government tried to suppress the matter. This is a betrayal of lakhs of hardworking students,” he said.Rejecting the allegations, Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore claimed the leak did not originate in Rajasthan. “The paper leak did not happen in Rajasthan. It happened in Kerala. Investigation is underway and the guilty will be punished,” he said.Meanwhile, investigators are probing a multi-state network linked to the alleged leak. Rajasthan SOG has claimed that a leaked “guess paper” containing over 400 questions — including all 90 biology questions and all 45 chemistry questions from the actual exam — was sold for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.According to police, the paper may have first reached a coaching institute in Nashik before being circulated across several states. Acting on inputs from Rajasthan Police, Nashik Police detained 30-year-old Shubham Khairnar from the Indiranagar area on Tuesday. The CBI later took him into custody for questioning over his alleged role in the paper trail.The SOG said the network stretched across Jaipur, Sikar, Gurgaon, Nashik, Pune, Dehradun and Kerala. Investigators suspect the questions, disguised inside a “guess paper”, were initially intended for select buyers but were later circulated more widely for profit.The alleged leak has also triggered scrutiny in Maharashtra’s Latur district after a parent alleged that 42 questions from a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute matched those asked in the actual NEET examination. Latur Police have launched an inquiry into the claims.On Monday, SOG Additional Director General Vishal Bansal said the investigation was currently focused on the “guess paper”, which had allegedly been circulating among students up to a month before the examination.The controversy sparked protests by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in Ajmer, where demonstrators burnt tyres and raised slogans against the Centre and the Rajasthan government, demanding strict action against those involved in the leak network.Several students also expressed frustration over the cancellation. Many said years of preparation and heavy financial investments by families had been jeopardised because of the alleged actions of the paper leak mafia.The NEET-UG 2026 examination, conducted by the NTA on May 3 for undergraduate medical admissions, was cancelled Tuesday amid allegations of widespread irregularities. The CBI has now registered a case under charges including criminal conspiracy, cheating and offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.
