On Wednesday, Sikar was sizzling at 42 degrees Celcius.
The Rajasthan district found itself thrust into the national spotlight for another reason: the whistlebolwer in the now-cancelled National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-Under Graduate (UG) 2026 examination comes from this region.
Since its introduction in 2013, the NEET is now for the first time facing a full-scale cancellation and retest. In 2024, the question paper was leaked and FIRs were registered across six states and the case was transferred to the CBI.
The NEET examination, the country's biggest undergraduate medical entrance test, this year was held on May 3. After allegations of paper leak, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts this entrance exam, cancelled the exam on May 12.
The agency has maintained that the examination was conducted under a "full security protocol", including GPS-tracked movement of question papers, biometric verification, AI-assisted CCTV monitoring and deployment of 5G jammers.
The whistleblower, a Chemistry teacher from Sikar, recounted that on May 3, the day of the entrance test, his landlord showed him a viral copy of the exam paper that had been circulated on a WhatsApp group. The teacher was reviewing the exam paper when he was presented with the allegedly leaked copy of the question paper.
When the teacher, who requested NDTV that his identity be protected, cross-referenced this viral copy with the original question paper, he found that 45 Chemistry questions were an exact match with the real exam paper.
He subsequently showed the paper to a colleague, a Biology teacher. They discovered that 90 questions in that section were identical to the original exam.
The two teachers were now suspicious and worried.
Fellow teachers were called in for consultation.
The whistleblower claims he went to the Udyog Nagar Police Station in Sikar that very night. The police instructed him to file a formal complaint, with written documentation and supporting evidence.
Over the next two days, the whistleblower gathered evidence, including screenshots and viral PDF files, related to the case.
The whistleblower's landlord also encouraged him to file a complaint.
On May 6, he sent a detailed complaint via email to the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and to the National Testing Agency (NTA).
He told NDTV that within just a few hours of sending the complaint, he received phone calls from the Director General (DG) of the NTA, Abhishek Singh, and officials from the CBI, seeking information regarding the matter.
A day later, on May 7, a team from the Ministry of Home Affairs arrived in Sikar, and the whistleblower's official statement was recorded.
During this process, he handed over the files related to the viral paper, along with other relevant information in his possession, to the investigative agencies.
Subsequently, on the same day, the Rajasthan Police's Special Operation's Group (SOG) and the Sikar Police also questioned him.
The whistleblower told NDTV that he took this step solely with the transparency of the examination and the future of the students in mind. He believes, he told NDTV, that had a complaint not been lodged in a timely manner, the matter could have been hushed up.
The CBI, which is investigating the case, has arrested five people and conducted searches at multiple locations across the country.
Those arrested are Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik with several others suspects being questioned in various cities.
The fresh dates for the restest have not yet been announced.
However, NTA Director General has said the schedule for the re-examination will be announced within the "next seven to 10 days".
He also said the agency aims to conduct the exam at the earliest to avoid disruption to the academic calendar and medical college admissions.
The NTA has clarified that the registration data and candidature from the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward to the reconducted examination.
"The Agency is conscious that re-conduct will cause real and significant inconvenience to candidates and their families," it said, adding that allowing the examination process to stand would have caused "greater and more lasting damage" to public trust.
