Exclusive: How A Chemistry Teacher Blew The Lid Off NEET Paper Leak

The NEET 2026 paper leak racket was busted due to the alertness and hard work of chemistry teacher Shashikant Suthar from Sikar in Rajasthan. It was Suthar who first alerted the authorities about the suspected paper leak after the exam on May 3.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Suthar said that on the evening of May 3 after the exam, he sat down with some of his students to discuss the question paper. It was then that someone known to him showed him a PDF document that he claimed was viral since May 2, a day before the NEET exam.

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To his surprise, Suthar found that 45 out of 45 chemistry questions in the NEET paper matched with those in the PDF document. Alarmed, he then asked a Biology teacher to tally the questions of the subject. "90 of the Biology questions matched with the leaked set of questions," Suthar told NDTV.

Shocked at the events, Suthar approached the Sikar police who guided him to reach out to the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts the exam. He said, worried that deserving and hardworking students may suffer due to the paper leak, he approached the Sikar police at 1:30 am in the night, who then told him to write to the NTA.

Suthar informed NDTV that he informed the NTA via an email of the suspected leak and immediately received a call from NTA Director General Abhishek Singh, who took down all the details. He was then also approached by the CBI team that is investigating the leak. Suthar added that he has given all the proof to the agency.

Read | 60-Page PDF That Alerted NEET Paper Leak Whistleblowers Accessed By NDTV

Denying any intimidation or calls from anyone, the whistleblower, said that his only motivation in exposing the leak was the interest of the hardworking students.

He told NDTV that he is also thankful to God, who gave him courage and also the alacrity to take up the issue when he sensed something was wrong.

His only hope now is for the CBI probe to bring the truth and expose those behind the criminal nexus.

The CBI has so far arrested nine accused in this case, including individuals from Jaipur and Sikar in Rajasthan, Gurugram in Haryana, and Nashik, Pune, and Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra.

The biggest breakthrough in the CBI investigation came from Pune, when the agency arrested chemistry lecturer PV Kulkarni. He was involved in the NTA examination process and had access to the question papers.

A Botany teacher, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, from Pune, has also been arrested in the case. She worked for the NEET process following her appointment by the NTA as an expert.