New Delhi, 13 May

The CBI has arrested five persons and is conducting searches at multiple locations across the country in connection with the NEET UG paper leak case as the agency intensified its investigation, officials said Wednesday.

The agency has arrested three individuals from Jaipur, one from Gurugram, and one from Nashik, while several other suspects are being questioned in various cities and may be arrested later, they added.

Among those arrested, 30-year-old Shubham Khairnar from Nashik is being brought to Delhi for further questioning after a local magistrate court granted the CBI a transit remand for him.

Nashik Police detained Khairnar on Tuesday following a request from Rajasthan Police.

After taking over the investigation on Tuesday, the CBI is conducting searches at multiple locations across the country based on emerging leads, they said.

The CBI has seized several digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, from the suspects, which will be sent for forensic examination to trace messaging applications that may have been used to circulate the examination papers, they said.

According to agency sources, the CBI is coordinating with the Special Operations Group (SOG), Rajasthan, which had conducted a preliminary enquiry in the case.

"The CBI is pursuing all leads relating to the alleged paper leak through extensive technical and forensic analysis and remains committed to conducting a comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation into the matter," an official in the know of developments said.

The CBI on Wednesday also visited the National Testing Agency (NTA) headquarters to collect documents related to the NEET UG examination, which was cancelled following allegations of paper leak, officials said.

The team also spoke to officials involved in the examination process, they said.

The CBI had registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the NEET UG alleged paper leak case, which resulted in the cancellation of the paper held on 3 May.

The NEET-UG 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.

According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of 7 May, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".

The Rajasthan Police's SOG claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 questions that appeared in the test.