NEET paper leak: CBI takes custody of man detained by Nashik Police

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday took into its custody a person from Nashik in Maharashtra in connection with the alleged NEET paper leak, an official said. Earlier in the day, crime branch unit 2 of Nashik Police detained Shubham Khairnar (30), resident of Nandgaon in the district, following a request from Rajasthan Police. He was picked up from Indiranagar area of the city, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chauhan.The sources said the accused was a third-year BAMS student studying in Sehore (MP). "During his time in Nashik, he also worked as a career counsellor," a source said, adding that the accused was preparing to leave the city on the pretext of going on a holiday when the police detained him.
The NEET (UG) 2026 exam for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges, held on May 3, was cancelled on Tuesday amid allegations of paper leak. The government asked the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. 
Meanwhile, the alleged paper leak may have links extending to Latur in central Maharashtra, where a parent of a student who appeared for the exam lodged a complaint at the Superintendent of Police’s office on Tuesday, a police official said. According to the complaint, a private coaching institute in Latur reportedly conducted a mock test for its students before the NEET (UG)-2026 examination. Shockingly, as many as 42 questions from the mock test were allegedly found to be identical to those asked in the actual NEET examination, it claimed. The complaint raised suspicion about the possible involvement of the coaching institute in the wider paper leak network.The Latur police administration has appealed to citizens to come forward with any information or evidence related to the NEET paper leak case.