Summary of this article
- A Bhopal-based medical sciences student was detained in Nashik for possessing a leaked NEET ‘guess’ paper.
- The handwritten paper matched 120 of 150 questions from the original exam.
- The leak allegedly originated from a printing press in Nashik and spread across multiple states.
A medical sciences student from Bhopal, Shubham Khairnar, was detained by Maharashtra police on Tuesday for allegedly obtaining a physical copy of a leaked NEET-UG ‘guess’ paper days before the May 3 exam.
According to a senior officer from the Maharashtra police’s Special Operation Group (SOG), Khairnar accessed the physical copy in Nashik through individuals believed to have leaked the original question paper. He then converted it into a PDF and forwarded it to a person in Gurugram, Haryana. From there, the soft copy was widely circulated across Jaipur, Sikar, Kerala, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, and Dehradun.
“He is a key person who will lead us further. It is not yet clear how he contacted the network or how much he paid,” the officer said.
A senior Rajasthan SOG officer confirmed that the handwritten ‘guess’ paper matched 120 of the 150 biology and chemistry questions from the original NEET paper.
The document contained 410 questions with answers and was sold to employees at paying guest accommodations and coaching centers catering to NEET aspirants.
The leak is believed to have originated from a printing press in Nashik, and the paper was reportedly used in Haryana or Rajasthan first. Investigators suspect a well-organized, nationwide network involving paper solvers and impersonators.
No FIR has been filed yet, police said, but Khairnar’s interrogation is expected to reveal the original source of the physical paper. Authorities are now tracing the broader conspiracy behind one of India’s most high-stakes medical entrance exam leaks.
