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The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET UG 2026 examination after a massive paper leak was uncovered, affecting over twenty-two lakh medical aspirants across the country.
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00:12Music
00:13More than 22 lakh students walk out of examination halls across India
00:20after writing the biggest medical entrance exam in the country, NEET UG 2026.
00:27For most of them, the exam was over.
00:30But the truth was, the nightmare had just begun.
00:35Hello and welcome to our special show, Postmortem,
00:38where we put the spotlight on the crimes that shock us but make us want to know more and more.
00:47The story begins in the dead of night of May 4th at around 1.30am,
00:53some hours after over 22 lakh students finished writing the NEET UG 2026.
01:01A man reached Udyog Nagar Police Station in Rajasthan's Seeker District
01:06with what he claimed was the proof of a paper leak.
01:10He had with him a handwritten guest paper,
01:13questions which strangely matched those asked in the NEET UG 2026 exam.
01:19But no complaint was filed at the police station that night.
01:24The handwritten pages the whistleblower was carrying that night were to expose this very scam.
01:30It was he who finally wrote to the NTA with the evidence.
01:35On 8pm on May 8th, Rajasthan Police finally received a complaint
01:42alleging that the same questions that appeared in the NEET examination
01:47were already circulating among students and coaching centres even before the exam.
01:55It took the National Testing Agency or the NTA which conducted the All India Medical Entrance Test
02:01just days to wake up to the paper leak and cancel the exam.
02:07The whistleblower's name is Shashikan Soutar.
02:10He is a chemistry teacher and educator based in Seeker, Rajasthan
02:15who noticed the massive overlap between a viral PDF and the actual NEET UG question paper.
02:23But it was not him who discovered this leak.
02:27The first report of the leak came from a PG hostel owner.
02:32His son, an MBBS student studying in Kerala,
02:37unknowingly forwarded him a handwritten PDF guest paper on the evening of May 2nd,
02:44thinking it might help NEET aspirants that are staying at his father's hostel.
02:50The hostel owner tried to give it to four female students on the morning of May 3rd,
02:56but the students had already left for the exam hall.
03:00Out of curiosity, he later shared the PDF with a local chemistry teacher
03:05which ultimately exposed that 135 out of 180 questions matched the actual test.
03:14This chemistry teacher was Shashikanth.
03:21During the investigation, when Rajasthan police reached the coaching hostel in Seeker
03:27and examined the mobile phones of several students,
03:30they discovered WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels.
03:34Those groups contained the exact same questions that had appeared in the NEET examinations.
03:44Just two years earlier, the same NEET examination had witnessed a paper leak scandal but in Bihar.
03:52This time too, realising the scale of the conspiracy,
03:56the NTA immediately handed over the investigation to the CBI.
04:00Because the network was no longer limited to Rajasthan,
04:05it had spread across multiple states.
04:14The leak did not happen outside the system.
04:17The leak was the system.
04:20As the CBI began peeling back the layers of the NEET-2026 paper leak scandal,
04:27one disturbing possibility started emerging again and again.
04:31This wasn't the work of hackers, students or random coaching mafias alone.
04:37The fortress has fallen from within.
04:40The very people trusted to protect the sanctity of India's biggest medical entrance exam
04:46were now under suspicion of selling it.
04:53Every year, the NTA handpicks subject experts to prepare the NEET question papers.
05:00Professors, senior faculty members, academic specialists
05:04trusted with shaping the future of India's doctors.
05:07This year, among those selected were Professor P. V. Kulkarni
05:12and botany lecturer Manisha Mandhari.
05:17Their responsibility was critical.
05:19Chemistry, botany, biology.
05:22The very backbone of NEET.
05:25The investigators now believe that after preparing the paper,
05:29the same paper was allegedly sold for massive amounts of money
05:34through a chain of middlemen to coaching operators
05:38and private candidates desperate to crack NEET at any cost.
05:43And in this chain, investigators say a Pune-based beautician
05:48named Manisha Wagamare allegedly became a crucial link.
05:53From there, the network only kept expanding.
05:57Phone records, telegram groups, WhatsApp chats, money transfers,
06:03coaching links and student contacts.
06:05With every single raid, another connection emerged.
06:09So far, the CBI has arrested more than 10 people.
06:13But even now, the agency has not been able to identify
06:18the real mastermind behind the operation.
06:25But will the CBI actually reach that mastermind?
06:29Or will this case end the same way
06:31the 2024 Bihar NEET-LEE case ended?
06:35Back then too, more than 40 arrests were made.
06:38More than 5,000 pages of chart sheets were filed.
06:42Yet the biggest question remained unanswered.
06:46Who really ran that operation?
06:49Even today, the mastermind of 2024 NEET-paper leak
06:54remains a mystery.
06:56But the scandal was no longer confined to Rajasthan.
07:00The investigation soon exploded across multiple states.
07:04Then came Nagpur.
07:11As the country watched the case unfold day by day,
07:15CBI teams from Delhi suddenly arrived in Nagpur and Chandrapur.
07:20Simultaneous raids were carried out at the homes of suspected candidates
07:24and their associates.
07:26For hours, officers questioned students, families and intermediaries.
07:32And slowly, a terrifying possibility began taking shape.
07:37This was no isolated leak.
07:40This was a network.
07:42A network involving middlemen, coaching operators, digital handlers
07:48and possibly insiders connected to the examination system itself.
07:58Then came the whistleblower, as we told you.
08:00A man named Shashikant Suthar,
08:02who would become one of the first people to publicly reveal
08:05how the leak was detected.
08:07According to him, after the NEET examination on 3rd of May,
08:12while solving the paper of his students,
08:14he met a known person who showed him a PDF file.
08:18And at first glance, it looked like just another gas paper.
08:22But when he matched those 45 chemistry questions
08:25with the actual NEET paper,
08:27he was stunned.
08:28As every single one matched,
08:30then they checked biology.
08:3390 biology questions.
08:35Again, every single one matched the actual exam paper.
08:39That was the moment they realized
08:42this was not prediction.
08:43This was the paper itself.
08:46The information was immediately passed to NTA,
08:49after which the CBI and Special Operations Group
08:51were brought into the investigation.
08:54And strangely enough,
08:55the trail once again led the investigators
08:58towards one city, Sikhar.
09:05The same Sikhar that had already become famous across India
09:10for producing extraordinary NEET results
09:13year after year.
09:15After the 2026 paper leak surfaced from Sikhar,
09:19questions around the so-called Sikhar model
09:22started resurfacing once again.
09:24The numbers themselves raised eyebrows.
09:28In 2024,
09:31more than 27,200 students from Sikhar
09:35appeared for NEET.
09:36149 students scored above 700 out of 720,
09:41the highest in the country.
09:432,037 students scored above 650,
09:484,729 students scored above 600,
09:546,338 students scored above 550,
09:598,225 students scored above 500.
10:04Now investigators are trying to determine
10:07whether these extraordinary success clusters
10:11were purely the result of coaching ecosystems
10:14or whether some centres had access
10:18to something far more dangerous.
10:20The real horror of the NEET leak scandal
10:23is not just corruption,
10:25it is the consequence.
10:26Because when question papers are sold,
10:30merit dies.
10:30And when merit dies in medicine,
10:33the price is paid not inside the examination halls,
10:37but inside hospital wards.
10:39One day,
10:40a patient lying on an operation table
10:42may unknowingly place their life
10:44in the hands of someone
10:46who did not become a doctor through knowledge,
10:48but through a leaked paper
10:50bought for a few lakh rupees.
10:52And that is why
10:53this scandal is not just about cheating,
10:56it's about trust.
10:58Trust in examinations,
11:00trust in institutions,
11:02trust in the doctors
11:03who will one day decide
11:05who lives and who dies.
11:0722 lakh students,
11:095,432 examination centres,
11:13layers of secrecy,
11:14CCTV surveillance,
11:16GPS tracking,
11:17police escorts,
11:18and locked bank walls.
11:20And an exam that decides
11:22who becomes a doctor in India.
11:24But despite all of it,
11:26the paper still leaked.
11:27Here's the story of how
11:29India's most protected examination
11:31may have been betrayed from within.
11:40Just look at this one press release.
11:42A press release issued by
11:44the National Testing Agency
11:45or the NTA,
11:46the body that operates
11:48under India's Ministry of Education.
11:50This is the same NTA
11:52that is entrusted
11:54with conducting
11:55the largest examination
11:57in the country
11:58by the sheer number of students
12:00appearing for it.
12:01And that exam is neat.
12:03The National Eligibility
12:05Come Entrance Test,
12:06the gateway
12:07for becoming a doctor in India.
12:09The moment you look at
12:10the figures mentioned
12:11in this single press release,
12:13you begin to understand
12:15just how massive
12:17this examination truly is.
12:19Imagine an exam
12:20conducted across
12:21551 cities
12:24in India
12:25and 14 cities
12:27outside the country.
12:28An examination
12:29where 22,79,000
12:32students appear
12:33at a staggering
12:355,432 examination centres.
12:38Just imagine the scale,
12:40pressure,
12:41and the importance
12:43of such an examination.
12:50Before the students
12:51even sit
12:52for this exam
12:53that decides
12:54the future
12:54of India's doctors,
12:56the agency conducting it,
12:58the NTA,
12:59goes through preparations
13:00so secretive and layered
13:02that at times
13:03even the biggest
13:04espionage thrillers
13:06and covert
13:07intelligence operations
13:09seem smaller
13:10in comparison.
13:11The process of preparing
13:12the question paper
13:13is wrapped
13:14in such secrecy
13:16that even the experts
13:17creating the questions
13:18do not know
13:19whether their own questions
13:21will finally make it
13:23into the paper or not.
13:24The building
13:25where the paper setting
13:27process takes place
13:28is virtually,
13:29apparently,
13:31turned into a structure
13:32from another era.
13:34Internet,
13:35mobile phones,
13:36laptops,
13:36cameras,
13:37every modern technology
13:39that could potentially
13:40be used to leak
13:41the question paper
13:42is completely removed
13:44from the premises.
13:45For a single examination,
13:48two separate sets
13:49of question papers
13:50are prepared.
13:51But which of the two sets
13:52will finally reach
13:54the examination pause
13:55is known to only one person,
13:58the chief of the NTA.
14:05Once the papers are finalized,
14:07then comes the printing process.
14:10Even the identity
14:11of the printing press
14:12and the city
14:13where the papers are printed
14:15remains a closely guarded secret.
14:22After printing,
14:24the papers are transported
14:25under heavy security
14:27in GPS-enabled vehicles
14:29to different parts of the country
14:31where need centers
14:32are located.
14:33The papers
14:34are then stored
14:35inside bank lockers
14:37located near
14:38those examination centers.
14:40On the day
14:41of the examination,
14:42the sealed question papers
14:44are taken out
14:45from the lockers
14:46under the supervision
14:47of district magistrates
14:49and escorted
14:50by police forces
14:52before being delivered
14:53to examination centers
14:54just moments
14:56before the exam begins.
14:58Throughout this
14:59entire operation,
15:01CCTV cameras
15:02continuously monitor
15:03every movement
15:05of this question papers.
15:07Then comes the examination itself.
15:09For every city,
15:10a separate city coordinator
15:12is appointed.
15:14In total,
15:14674 city operators
15:17are deployed.
15:18Apart from them,
15:196,000 observers
15:20are stationed
15:21across examination centers
15:23to remain vigilant.
15:25In addition to this,
15:28every center
15:28has its own superintendent
15:30and invigilators,
15:32district administrations,
15:34police forces
15:35and escort teams
15:36are also deployed
15:37at every center.
15:38Now imagine this,
15:40such a massive operation,
15:42such intense surveillance,
15:44such extreme secrecy,
15:46and yet,
15:47despite all of this,
15:48if the paper gets leaked
15:49even before the exam begins,
15:51what would you call it?
15:53After 24,
15:55in 2026,
15:57once again,
15:57the same thing happened.
15:59The high-profile agency
16:01responsible for conducting NEET,
16:03the NDA,
16:04failed once again
16:06within just two years.
16:10But the biggest question is this,
16:12why could India's biggest examination
16:15not be protected
16:16from being stolen?
16:18How did the paper leak
16:19despite such elaborate secrecy?
16:22Who were the people
16:23who robbed the hard work
16:24of over 22 lakh students
16:26just to illegally make
16:28a few dozen
16:29or a few hundred candidates
16:31into doctors?
16:59The agency change
17:00for exam conduction
17:02or online
17:03for J.E.
17:04and C.U.E.T.
17:05There are a lot of exams
17:06that have been changed
17:06so the pattern
17:07should be changed
17:08and it's been happening
17:09and it's been happening
17:09in the last year
17:10but it didn't come in front of me.
17:16India's current population
17:18stands at nearly 148 crore.
17:20Actually,
17:21this is an enormous population
17:23and with such numbers,
17:25the annual debt toll
17:26in India
17:26is also significantly high.
17:29According to one report,
17:31nearly 95 lakh people
17:33die in India every year.
17:35A large percentage
17:36of these deaths
17:37are caused by diseases.
17:39Among the illnesses
17:40responsible for the highest
17:41number of deaths
17:42in India
17:43are heart disease,
17:44lung disease,
17:45tuberculosis
17:46and cancer.
17:47To treat these illnesses,
17:49India has close
17:50to 1 lakh hospitals,
17:52government
17:52and private combined.
17:54Of these,
17:5536,626 are government hospitals
17:58while nearly 44,000
18:00are private hospitals.
18:02Across these hospitals
18:03and clinics
18:05work around 13,86,150
18:09allopathic doctors
18:11which means,
18:12on average,
18:13there is one doctor
18:14for every 811 people.
18:17However,
18:18compared to cities,
18:19villages
18:20and remote regions
18:21continue to suffer
18:22from a shortage
18:23of doctors.
18:26And it is precisely
18:28to bridge
18:28this shortage
18:29that new doctors
18:30are produced
18:31every year
18:32through NEET.
18:34Every year,
18:35nearly 23 lakh students
18:36appear for this examination
18:38carrying the dream
18:39of becoming doctors.
18:40Yet,
18:41out of them,
18:42only around
18:431,30,000 students
18:45are finally selected.
18:46Among all professions
18:48in the world,
18:49perhaps none takes
18:50as long
18:51to become
18:51professionally qualified
18:53as medicine.
18:54Becoming a doctor
18:55takes nearly
18:568 and a half years,
18:584 and a half years
18:59of MBBS,
19:00one mandatory year
19:02of internship
19:03and then another
19:04three years
19:05of post-graduation
19:06which is MD or MS
19:07which means
19:08that after completing
19:09class 12,
19:10a student still
19:11spends another
19:138 and a half years
19:14studying medicine.
19:44is
19:56The latest NEET examination for producing new doctors was scheduled for May 3rd.
20:01And preps for conducting this examination had begun several months earlier.
20:07The NDA selected teams of subject experts in physics, chemistry and biology,
20:12the three essential subjects required for medical studies to prepare the question papers.
20:18These experts are usually faculty members from universities and colleges who teach first-year students.
20:25The identities of these experts are kept confidential.
20:29And they too are instructed to maintain complete secrecy.
20:33The experts then prepare lists of easy, moderate and difficult questions according to their subjects.
20:42During the process of preparing the papers, the NDA building where this work takes place has no internet access.
20:49Mobile phones, cameras or any electronic gadgets are strictly prohibited.
20:54Detailed records are maintained of who enters or exits the building and which files are opened and when.
21:02CCTV surveillance continuously monitors the premises.
21:05For the NEET examination, two different sets of question papers are prepared.
21:11But nobody knows which set will finally be used.
21:15Only the NDA chief knows.
21:17Once finalized, the papers are transported from the NDA office to the printing press.
21:21Sometimes a single printing press is used.
21:24Sometimes multiple presses are involved.
21:27NDA officials closely monitor the printing facilities as well.
21:31During the printing process, only a handful of people are present inside.
21:36Again, mobile phones and cameras remain prohibited.
21:41CCTV cameras continuously monitor every corner of the printing press.
21:47The moment the papers are printed, NDA officials immediately take custody of them.
21:53From the printing press, the papers are transported to the bank lockers.
21:57On the examination day itself, they are then moved from the lockers to examination centers.
22:03The vehicles transporting these papers, whether from the printing press to the banks or from the banks to the examination
22:10centers,
22:11carry NDA officials and are equipped with GPS systems so that their locations can be constantly tracked.
22:21But then comes the shocking revelation.
22:25News emerges that the question paper had already leaked several days before the exam was conducted.
22:32Not just a few questions, the entire paper had leaked.
22:35And now the biggest question was,
22:38despite such extraordinary precautions,
22:41how did the paper leak?
22:47The CBI may still be searching for the mastermind,
22:51but the bigger question remains unanswered.
22:54If India cannot protect the examination that creates its doctors,
22:59then who exactly is protecting the future patients those doctors will one day treat?
23:05That's all we have for you in today's postmortem.
23:08It's time for a short break now.
23:10You watch India Today.
23:42It's time for a short break.
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