Summary of this article
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Nashik resident Shubham Khairnar in connection with the alleged NEET 2026 paper leak.
Investigators claim the leaked “guess paper” closely matched the actual exam and was sold to students for large sums.
The multi-state investigation, led by Rajasthan Police and the CBI, has resulted in at least 16 arrests so far.
On Tuesday evening the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took into custody a 30-year-old man from Nashik in connection with the alleged NEET paper leak. The man has been identified as Shubham Khairnar. The arrest came a day after the cancellation of NEET 2026 by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
According to reports he was picked up from the Indranagar area of the city by the crime branch unit 2 of Nashik Police on the request of Rajasthan police.
The scandal reportedly began in Maharashtra and spread to other states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir.
Who is Shubham Khairnar?
According to reports, Shubham Khairnar is a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) student. He belongs to Nandagaon, Nashik and was arrested from Indranagar while allegedly on his way to a temple.
In an attempt to avoid arrest, Khairnar had cut his hair short to avoid identification by the police. But the police managed to nab him with the help of old photographs.
Investigators alleged that Khairnar bought the leaked NEET 2026 paper or ‘guess paper’ as it was called for ₹10 lakh and then sold it to students for ₹15 lakh, earning ₹5 lakh from each sale.
The ‘guess paper’ bore extraordinary similarities to the question paper; 45 Chemistry and 90 Biology questions matched the actual exam paper.
How the Leak Was Traced to Maharashtra
According to reports information about the leak emerged after a group of teachers in Sikar emailed a complaint to the NTA about alleged irregularities in the exam. The NTA forwarded the information to the Intelligence Bureau who then directed Rajasthan police to investigate the matter.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan then traced the movement of the question paper by coordinated questioning of people who were suspected of receiving the leaked paper. The movement of the question paper was traced from Sikar and Jaipur in Rajasthan to Haryana and finally to Nashik. Shubham Khairnar was also arrested from Nashik.
Rajasthan SOG has also made 15 other arrests in relation to this case which include alleged masterminds Manish Yadav and Rakesh Mandwaria.
