Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday contended that the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak reflects that the entire examination system has “badly deteriorated”.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate examination 2026 following alleged irregularities.

Addressing the media, Pawar alleged that precautionary measures were not taken by the Central government despite multiple cases of paper leaks in the recent past.

“Lakhs of students across the country appear for the NEET examination, and their future depends on it. Despite this, the irregularities that have come to light are extremely serious,” he added.

The NCP-SP chief mentioned that issues of irregularities in the national-level medical exam have surfaced in Maharashtra, Kerala, Haryana, and several other states.

“This shows how badly the entire system has deteriorated, and ultimately, students are the ones suffering because of it.”

Pawar also underlined that what is bothering the students most is the uncertain situation, because they do not know when these examinations will be conducted again.

“There is a great deal of anxiety surrounding the situation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more accused in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, taking the total number of people arrested so far to seven, officials said on Thursday.

The two newly arrested accused have been identified as Dhananjay Lokhanda, a resident of Ahilyanagar, and Manisha Waghmare from Pune.

Their arrests came during extensive searches conducted by the agency at 14 locations across the country over the past 24 hours as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged examination malpractice.

A Delhi court has sent the five accused arrested earlier in the case to seven days of CBI custody for further questioning.

The CBI registered the case on May 12, following a complaint lodged by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education regarding the alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper.

–IANS

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