NEET Question Paper Leak Row Sparks Outrage, Probe Intensifies in Rajasthan

New Delhi: A massive question paper leak has thrown the futures of lakhs of medical aspirants into uncertainty, with Rajasthan's Special Operations Group finding that a so-called "guess paper" circulated before the NEET examination in Sikar bore an extraordinary resemblance to the actual question paper. Investigators found that questions worth approximately 600 of the total 720 marks had leaked — and crucially, not just the questions but the exact sequence of answer options as well, indicating that the exam board's question bank itself was compromised rather than mere educated guessing.

The racket, centred in Sikar, reportedly charged between ₹20,000 and ₹2 lakh per copy of the paper, with prices falling to around ₹30,000 on the night before the exam as supply increased. The questions were circulated through social media and encrypted messaging platforms, and phones seized by investigators contained messages forwarded multiple times — evidence that the leaked material reached thousands of students before the exam.

Students and parents had initially complained about the uncanny similarity between model papers circulating online and the actual question paper. Police are now examining CCTV footage from exam centres and other digital evidence. Several coaching centres are under surveillance in connection with the leak.

The incident has sparked widespread protests, with demands from some quarters that the examination be cancelled and reconduceted. NEET has been embroiled in similar controversies in previous years as well, each time triggering large-scale student agitation.