New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the deployment of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel to implement a two-layer security arrangement for transport of NEET-UG 2026 question papers.
The exam was initially conducted on 3 May but cancelled later over allegations of paper leak and other irregularities. It will now be reconducted on 21 June.
For the highly confidential task, the ministry has ordered the deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), both during transportation of question papers and during OMR sheet evaluation of candidates’ responses.
The two-layered security will entail escort of question papers from the origin hubs in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and throughout the transportation route, including at airports, helipads and other critical locations, the ministry said in an order dated 7 June, seen by ThePrint.
“Two-tier security arrangement is required to be implemented, particularly for the secure transportation and handling of confidential examination materials, including question papers and post-examination OMR answer sheets. In this regard, assistance of the CAPFs has been sought for the deployment of security personnel at critical stages of transportation and handling of the said materials,” the MHA stated.
The extensive security arrangements have been made at the request of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam. The NTA wrote to the home ministry earlier this month seeking CAPF deployment for delivery of question papers to designated bank branches, with the delivery scheduled to be completed by 19 June.
In a letter to the ministry, part of the MHA order, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh informed that CAPF deployment would be required during the reverse movement of OMR sheets as well, that would begin on the evening of the date of examination.
The security moves come days after the Centre, during a meeting at the residence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, decided to rope in the Indian Air Force for safe and leak-proof delivery of question papers to hub locations.
Under the two-layer security, CAPF personnel would be deployed at all locations from which question papers would be transported by IAF helicopters or aircraft. In addition to security at vital points in the transport chain, CAPF personnel would also accompany consignments aboard aircraft, and an overall list of appointed personnel would be maintained by the Ministry of Defence.
As many as 15 cities are covered under leg-1 airports, such as Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and several other bigger cities, while 85 cities are mapped to be covered under leg-2. And 34 cities and towns would be covered by helicopters for the supply of question papers.
“As advised by the Indian Air Force, CAPF personnel carrying service weapons during duty shall deposit their weapons prior to boarding the aircraft. The deposited weapons shall be securely safeguarded and returned at the destination airport in accordance with prescribed procedures,” the MHA order stated.
For seamless coordination between all agencies involved in the process, the MHA has asked both the CRPF and CISF headquarters to appoint a single point of contact for communication.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: What we know about NEET (UG) ‘leak’—PDF that got 120 of 180 questions right, Nashik student detained