NEEET PAPER LEAK SCANDAL: On May 12, the Nashik Crime Branch arrested a young man in Nashik’s Indira Nagar area in a significant move in the NEET-UG 2026 exam paper leak controversy, who has been identified as ‘Shubham Khairnar’. The arrest is reportedly made as a result of inputs shared by the Rajasthan Police. But this wasn’t his only arrest. As of now, nine have been arrested in five different states, and nearly 45 have been detained or questioned in the case, reports said.
Who is Shubham Khairnar?
Officials said that Shubham Khairnar is a student of Bachelor of Medical Sciences at Bhopal University. His approximate age is 30, and he resides in the Indiranagar area of Nashik with his family. He is originally from Nandgaon taluka in Nashik district. It is said that he got a physical copy of the ‘guess paper’ in Nashik a couple of days before the NEET exam on May 3 and gave a soft copy to someone in Haryana.
The arrest of Khairnar reportedly took place around noon when he was going to the temple for darshan. He had also supposedly altered his appearance and even shaved his hair, to stop people identifying him. He couldn’t, however, cover up his identity and was arrested by the police after they were able to recognise his face from old photos.
neet ka paper logon ko 1 may ko hi mil chuka tha, madharchod nta apni maa chudva rahi thi?@NTA_Exams pic.twitter.com/yUh2IuMd4u
— शकुनी (@situationcips) May 5, 2026
Who is the mastermind of NEET paper leak scandal?
Sources say Manish Yadav is the main guy suspected of pulling the strings in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Right now, he’s in custody. There’s also Rakesh Mandawariya and police say he is the one who distributed the leaked exam papers. He’s been detained too.
With 13 years on the line, Ashish Kumar Singh loves everything when it comes to movies, music, travel and pop culture. Formerly employed at ANI, Pinkvilla, India Today and HT, Ashish has interviewed some of the top celebrities of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, among others. Breaking news excites him and deadlines are what he chases. Interviewing comes naturally to him. Hit him up at ashish.kumar02singh@gmail.com.
