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NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) connected Tuesday cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 introspection conducted connected May 3, citing allegations of a question insubstantial leak and different irregularities, throwing the aboriginal of astir 22.79 lakh aspirants into uncertainty.
While Union acquisition curate Dharmendra Pradhan declined to respond to questions connected the controversy, the NTA failed to supply factual details connected the alleged leak oregon clarity connected the re-examination docket during its media briefing, drafting crisp disapproval from protesting students and absorption parties that demanded accountability from the Centre.The authorities has directed a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry into the alleged irregularities linked to the examination.
One idiosyncratic has been detained successful Maharashtra's Nashik successful transportation with the lawsuit truthful far. Moreover, Bihar Police has arrested 3 successful the case.The contention erupted aft reports of suspected malpractice surfaced from Rajasthan and Uttarakhand pursuing the May 3 examination. Investigators revealed that a papers containing astir 410 questions had allegedly been circulated among students betwixt 15 days and a period earlier the test.
Officials said astir 120 questions from the Chemistry conception were purportedly identical to those successful the existent exam paper.
Authorities further claimed that the worldly was distributed done WhatsApp groups conscionable 42 hours earlier the examination.
What authorities say
Union eductaion curate Dharmendra Pradhan declined to remark connected questions surrounding the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination. He besides refrained from responding erstwhile reporters sought his absorption to the contention aft the Centre cancelled the aesculapian entranceway exam earlier successful the day.
Meanwhile, NTA manager wide Abhishek Singh held a presser and said the revised docket for the re-examination would beryllium announced wrong the adjacent 7–10 days. He took responsiblity of the incident, saying "paper leaks should halt with "immediate effect". He added that immoderate questions successful PDF circulating among students anterior to exams "matched existent question paper". "We volition archer you the docket wrong adjacent 7-10 days," helium said. Addressing questions connected imaginable interior engagement successful the alleged insubstantial leak, Singh said the bureau had urged the CBI to place and apprehension each those responsible, whether from wrong oregon extracurricular the NTA, and guarantee strict enactment to forestall specified incidents successful the future."Be it idiosyncratic wrong oregon outside, whoever it is, we impulse the CBI to apprehension them and punish them truthful that this contented tin beryllium cured astatine the root," helium said.
"Paper leaks should extremity with contiguous effect. It is not bully for anyone.
We instrumentality this work due to the fact that what happened is incorrect and we are cancelling the exam. We volition behaviour the exam again with an assurance," helium added.
Opposition asks is this 'amrit kaal'?
The absorption leaders called for the resignation of the acquisition curate and called it a "poison period" for the nation. "The NEET 2026 exam has been cancelled. The hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of implicit 22 lakh students person been crushed by this corrupt BJP regime.
Some fathers took retired loans, immoderate mothers sold their jewellery, lakhs of children stayed up each nighttime studying, and successful return, they got insubstantial leaks, governmental negligence, and organised corruption successful education. This isn’t conscionable a failure—it’s a transgression against the aboriginal of the youth.
Every time, the insubstantial mafia get distant scot-free, portion honorable students carnivore the punishment," Lok Sabha person of absorption Rahul Gandhi said."Now, lakhs of students volition erstwhile again endure the aforesaid intelligence stress, fiscal burden, and uncertainty. If one’s destiny is to beryllium determined not by hard work, but by wealth and connections, past what’s the constituent of education? The Prime Minister’s alleged Amrit Kaal has turned into a poison play for the nation," helium added.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra asked the Centre to instrumentality accountability for the incidental and said: "NEET UG 2026 entranceway exam cancelled implicit question insubstantial leaks. Almost 100 insubstantial leaks & 50 re-exams successful past decennary of Modi Rajya. Over 20 lakh students affected successful this past leak alone. Accountability, anyone?"
DMK main MK Stalin suggested that re-conducting the exam would lone pb to delays and added that MBBS seats should beryllium allotted connected the ground of people 12 marks, similar before."Conducting the NEET exam again volition lone make delays and disorder successful students’ higher acquisition aspirations. Therefore, MBBS seats should erstwhile again beryllium allotted based solely connected Class 12 introspection marks, arsenic was done earlier," helium said.
Medical body, students condemn move
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) demanded strict accountability into the substance saying that the incidental had "shattered the spot of lakhs of sincere aspirants". "Such repeated failures exposure superior gaps successful the strategy liable for conducting 1 of the country's astir important examinations," PTI quoted FAIMA nationalist chairperson Jaideep Kumar Choudhary saying. "We request strict accountability and exemplary punishment for each idiosyncratic oregon organisation involved," helium said. NSUI staged a protestation extracurricular the NTA bureau and demanded the resignation of acquisition curate Dharmendra Pradhan.
"Dharmendra Pradhan indispensable resign. Corrupt NTA indispensable beryllium banned. From insubstantial leaks to organization failure, students person suffered enough. The combat volition proceed from the streets to Parliament until accountability is fixed. Judicial probe now. This authorities indispensable go," it said successful a station connected X.
Students slam NTA
Several NEET aspirants expressed vexation and distress implicit the cancellation of the introspection and the alleged insubstantial leak, with galore questioning the functioning of the NTA.One pupil criticised the bureau implicit what she described arsenic superior administrative lapses, saying it was hard to recognize however the insubstantial could person been leaked contempt claims of strict monitoring mechanisms, including GPS-tracked vehicles utilized for transporting question papers. "If specified a large bureau specified arsenic NTA claims that it has GPS tracked vehicles, past it is not bully erstwhile specified a happening happens. After moving truthful hard, erstwhile specified a happening happens, it is traumatic," ANI quoted the pupil saying.Another aspirant said the introspection represented not lone the dreams of students but besides the aspirations of their families. "This is simply a imagination for the children, the parents, and the families, and to fulfill this dream, it's not conscionable a substance of 1 oregon 2 months of hard work; galore children person been preparing since sixth oregon seventh grade. For those who people precise good and are bully astatine their studies, taking the exam again isn't a monolithic issue, but deliberation astir it: if you person to repetition a task implicit and implicit again," ANI quoted him saying."Even Prime Minister Modi and assorted agencies speech a batch astir children's intelligence health. Think of those children who worked hard and contiguous they are being told that no, you person to instrumentality the exam again successful a period oregon a period and a half. They were acceptable to unrecorded their dream, reasoning they would beryllium starting assemblage successful conscionable 2 months, but what happened today? And this occupation is recurring; determination is simply a mode to lick it. We person been repeatedly demanding that this exam should beryllium conducted online.
If this exam goes online, this occupation volition beryllium uprooted; the contented of insubstantial leaks volition ne'er beryllium again," helium added.
