₹30 lakh NEET leak trail leads to Gurugram doctor, Rajasthan brothers arrested

Investigators have traced a ₹30 lakh deal between two Rajasthan brothers and a Gurugram doctor in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, placing the doctor at the centre of an alleged interstate network that circulated the leaked exam paper.

Mangilal and Dinesh Biwal from Rajasthan’s Jamwa Ramgarh allegedly purchased the NEET paper on April 26, a week before the May 3 exam, according to investigators. Authorities say the brothers then passed the paper to family members and began circulating it further, triggering what now appears to be a sprawling interstate leak network.

The trail has placed Rajasthan’s Sikar district at the centre of the alleged scam. After one of the brothers shared the paper with his son, a NEET aspirant studying in Sikar, it was allegedly sold to multiple people on April 29.

Investigators say the paper next reached Rakesh Kumar Mandawaria, an MBBS counselling agent based in Sikar, who allegedly expanded the network. Operating near the city’s coaching hubs, Mandawaria is accused of selling the paper for ₹30,000 to an MBBS student from Sikar studying in Kerala.

That student allegedly sent the paper to his father, who runs a paying guest hostel in Sikar, with a message instructing him to share it with girls staying there, saying it would appear in the next day’s examination. Investigators believe the father then circulated it among hostel residents.

The Gurugram doctor is now under intense scrutiny. Rajasthan Police sources earlier indicated the leak may have originated at a printing press in Nashik before moving through what officials described as a “chain network” to the doctor in Gurugram, and from there to the Biwal brothers.

However, Indian Medical Association Gurugram president Dr Rajesh Kataria said no medical body had so far been approached by investigators regarding the alleged doctor.

Investigators also found that the brothers allegedly knew nearly a month in advance that this year’s NEET paper would be leaked. One of them, Dinesh, is also said to have links to a political party. Sources added that four children from their family had cleared NEET last year.

The probe has also uncovered WhatsApp and Telegram groups used by students and coaching operators in Sikar to circulate the paper. Investigators believe the leaked question paper travelled from Nashik to Sikar through Haryana and Jamwa Ramgarh before spreading to Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Kerala and Uttarakhand.

Mandawaria, arrested in Dehradun, is accused of distributing the paper to nearly 700 students. Investigators say the PDF was later circulated widely and even sold in printed form. In Haryana, Yash Yadav has also been arrested for allegedly selling the paper.

The NEET (UG) 2026 examination, conducted on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 after paper leak allegations triggered nationwide outrage. The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR under charges including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

The National Testing Agency said fresh exam dates will be announced within seven to 10 days, even as students across the country question the agency’s credibility and demand that All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi be entrusted with conducting the test.

Multiple CBI teams have now been deployed across states, while investigators are also collecting material from the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group, which earlier claimed that a leaked chemistry “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, nearly 120 of which allegedly appeared in the final exam.

In Nashik, police have detained a suspect linked to the leak, with a Rajasthan Police team expected to take custody as the investigation gathers pace.