CBI traces NEET exam leak to professor and students via WhatsApp and Mygate data
Investigators from the CBI followed a WhatsApp request for a professor's address and a Mygate access log to identify students who bought leaked NEET-UG papers and the faculty members who supplied them.
The Central Bureau of Investigation began its inquiry after a parent messaged chemistry professor PV Kulkarni on WhatsApp asking for his address to send a watch. Scrutinizing the Mygate access-control app used in apartment complexes and a WhatsApp group called "Fifa world cup," investigators traced a network of students who paid for "special classes" conducted by Kulkarni in his flat just before the NEET-UG exam. The probe uncovered that these students purchased the leaked question paper, and that the leak originated from faculty members, including physics lecturer Tejas Shah, who recorded the questions dictated by a student named Havaldar.
Shah, also chief operating officer of Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy, documented the questions on April 14. The CBI's analysis highlighted the testing agency's failure to anticipate insider involvement. Journalist Raj Shekhar Jha reported on the case.
Why it matters
The leak undermines the integrity of India's premier medical entrance exam and shows how digital tools can aid criminal investigations.
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