A NEET aspirant was arrested in Varanasi on Sunday after a SIM card, an old question paper of the medical entrance examination and adhesive material were allegedly recovered from his undergarments, police said.
The incident occurred at Harishchandra Post Graduate College in the Maidagin area, a designated examination centre, before the commencement of the test, according to news agency PTI.
Security personnel became suspicious during pre-examination frisking and carried out a detailed search of the candidate, which led to the recovery of the items concealed in his undergarments.
Student taken into custody
The candidate was immediately taken into custody.
During preliminary interrogation, the student identified himself as Prince Dubey, a resident of Ballia district, sources said.
Dubey told police that he had been staying in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, to prepare for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and had travelled to Varanasi specifically to appear for the examination.
Further investigation and legal proceedings are underway, police said.
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20 lakh aspirants appeared for NEET
Meanwhile, more than 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on Sunday after the original test was cancelled over paper leaks, an issue that sparked widespread protests and became a major challenge for the government.
Abhishek Singh, Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), said a whole-of-government approach enabled the agency to conduct the massive exercise in record time despite criticism following the paper leak controversy.
In a statement, the NTA said over 20 lakh candidates took the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination across 5,440 centres in India and 14 centres abroad. The exam was conducted in 13 languages, including Hindi and English.
“This was not the NTA acting alone. It was Team Bharat – a chain of people across the country who showed up so that, for each candidate, the only thing that mattered that morning was the paper in front of them,” the agency said.
7 lakh officials had been deployed
“In all, around 7 lakh officials – police teams, observers and examination staff – were mobilised across India to conduct this examination, and it was done in a record 37 days. NTA is especially grateful to the experts from academic institutions across the country who gave their personal time to help prepare multiple sets of question papers,” the NTA said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed arrangements for the smooth conduct of the re-examination at the NTA headquarters in Delhi’s Okhla.
“NTA apprised the minister of the logistical and technical arrangements put in place for the efficient and transparent conduct of the examination,” the Ministry of Education said.
The NTA said extensive arrangements had been made for all candidates, including more than 10,000 Persons with Disabilities.
“Special arrangements were put in place for around 81 candidates with medical conditions, among them a child who had been in a road accident, and a child undergoing chemotherapy, who were determined not to miss an exam they had prepared for years,” it said.
