Days after the Rajasthan Police took 16 suspects into custody following allegations of questions of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG being leaked, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the medical entrance examination conducted on May 3. The fresh dates for the re-examination will be announced within a week.The cancellation triggered nationwide outrage among medical aspirants, with students raising questions on the NTA’s competence and demanding that the exam be conducted by AIIMS-Delhi.The Opposition also attacked the Centre, alleging administrative failure, insensitivity towards students and “repeated lapses” in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations. It too demanded an overhaul of the NTA. The day also saw protests by activists of the NSUI, the SFI and other organisations at several places.In the evening, the CBI registered an FIR regarding criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under the BNS; offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act; and under the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act-2024.The Nashik police have detained a 30-year-old student, who is currently a final-year student of the Bachelor of Management Studies. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kiran Kumar Chavan said, “The accused will be handed over to the Rajasthan Police. The suspect is a resident of Nandgaon in Nashik district.” A request was received by the Nashik police from the Rajasthan Police on Tuesday regarding the accused’s involvement in the NEET case. Director General of the NTA Abhishek Singh said it would not be appropriate to state that the paper was leaked. “The PDF we have received had some questions which were similar to the ones asked in NEET. We found that the PDF was available on May 1 and 2. Even if one question matches with our question paper, it violates our policy of “zero error”. The CBI will investigate the matter. We will announce the fresh dates for the re-examination within seven days,” he said.He said on May 7, the NTA received information through a whistleblower that a few questions that were allegedly leaked matched with questions in the NEET-UG.The special operations group of the Rajasthan Police has launched a probe into the allegations of questions being leaked after it received intelligence that a 150-page “guess paper” was circulated. Of the 410 questions in the guess paper, 120 also featured in the examination, sources said.As many as 16 suspects from Sikar and Dehradun have been questioned by the Rajasthan Police. Raids have been conducted in hostels in Sikar.The NTA had, on May 8, referred the matter to central agencies for independent verification and necessary action.“The inputs received by the NTA, taken together with the findings shared by law enforcement agencies, established that the present examination process cannot be allowed to stand. The new examination dates, along with the admit card schedule, will be communicated through the official channels of the agency in the coming days,” the NTA said in a statement.The testing agency said the government had referred the matter to the CBI for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. “The NTA will extend full cooperation to the bureau and will provide the required material and records. The decision has been taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests. The agency is conscious that the re-conduct of the examination will cause real and significant inconvenience to candidates and their families. The NTA does not take that consequence lightly. The decision has been taken because the alternative would have caused greater and more lasting damage to that trust,” the NTA said.The registration data, candidature and examination centres opted for in the May cycle will be carried forward to the new examination. No fresh registration will be required, and no additional examination fee will be levied. In addition, the fee already paid will be refunded to the students and the exam will be re-conducted using the NTA’s internal resources.In 2024, the NEET (UG) was embroiled in a controversy after the Bihar Police launched a manhunt to arrest the accused involved in the alleged paper leak. While the examination was not cancelled, the Supreme Court asked the high-powered committee to strengthen the NEET management.