India’s medical testing authority is managing a national crisis following the severe compromise of the May 3 medical entrance exams. The Central Bureau of Investigation recovered a 60-page handwritten PDF containing exact test questions, which circulated across student messaging networks the night before the examination.
The breach invalidates the testing results for over 2.3 million medical aspirants nationwide. Authorities have arrested at least 10 individuals across five states in connection with the syndicate. A re-examination is scheduled for June 21, 2026, as the National Testing Agency acts to restructure its security protocols.
The 60-page document contained over 400 handwritten Chemistry questions, carefully concealing the actual exam material within the larger set of decoy problems to avoid immediate detection, according to a detailed report by India Today regarding the PDF access and NTA experts’ involvement. Investigators allege the leak originated directly from the secure paper-setting room.
Former NTA paper setter PV Kulkarni and Botany teacher Manisha Mandhare are accused of facilitating the initial extraction of the questions. Once digitized into a PDF format, the file rapidly reached thousands of students through a parallel distribution network operating out of the Sikar coaching hub in Rajasthan.
The federal probe recently expanded into Maharashtra, where the CBI detained prominent coaching executive Shivraj Motegaonkar of the Renukai Career Centre, as confirmed by The Indian Express detailing the 10th arrest in the case. Investigators found middlemen tied to these coaching centers were selling access to the digital papers for upwards of ₹10 lakh per student.
The discovery of a digitized, easily distributable PDF indicates a shift from the localized physical paper leaks seen in previous testing cycles. By utilizing encrypted messaging networks to distribute a “guess paper” filled with decoy questions, the perpetrators established a distribution method that regional monitors initially dismissed as standard student rumors. The ongoing arrests of both internal testing officials and external coaching center executives expose systemic vulnerabilities within the secure question curation process.