NEET paper leak: Meet ‘Dr’ Shubham Khairnar, Maharashtra’s first arrest, who never finished his medical degree | Mumbai News
4 min readNashikMay 14, 2026 07:00 AM IST
The signboard said “Dr Shubham Khairnar.”
It hung outside a consultancy office on the mezzanine floor of a commercial complex in central Nashik, in the middle of one of the city’s busiest coaching corridors. Every day, an estimated 2,500 students pass through that area, carrying textbooks, attending classes, preparing for NEET, dreaming of becoming doctors.
Khairnar had once tried to enter that world himself. In 2021, he enrolled for a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery at Shri Satya Sai University in Sehore, near Bhopal. According to vice-chancellor Mukesh Tiwari, he showed up for admission and never came back. Not for classes. Not for exams.
He returned to Nashik instead, put up a signboard with “Dr” in front of his name, and started SR Education Consultancy, offering guidance to students seeking admission to MBBS, BDS, BHMS and other medical courses. Students came to him. He became known in Nashik’s informal NEET counselling circles as someone who understood the system, someone who could navigate admissions, someone worth knowing.
On Tuesday, he became the first person from Maharashtra to be arrested in connection with the national NEET-UG paper leak case.
Shubham Khairnar’s office in Nashik
Khairnar, 27, is accused of purchasing the leaked question paper for around Rs 10 lakh and selling it for nearly Rs 15 lakh per copy through a courier chain allegedly stretching from Nashik to Rajasthan. The investigation reached Maharashtra after Rajasthan Police shared details about the alleged movement of the paper.
When police tracked Khairnar down outside a temple in Nashik, he had shaved his head completely to avoid recognition. When officers approached him, he allegedly tried to run, insisting repeatedly, “I am not Shubham.” Investigators matched old photographs, technical evidence and local verification before confirming his identity. A CBI special task force later took formal custody.
Story continues below this ad
Tracking him was not straightforward. Investigators started with a single lead, the name Shubham Khairnar, but the surname is common across Nashik district and nearby areas, slowing the early stages of the probe. Police turned to technical surveillance and digital tracking, obtained a photograph through technical inputs, and traced his movements through a social media profile he was allegedly still actively using. By the time they closed in, he had gone completely bald. Officers relied on older photographs and on-ground verification before detaining him.
Khairnar grew up in Nandgaon in Nashik district, in a family locally associated with medical practice. His father, Madhukar, is known in the village as a doctor and is said by villagers to treat patients using ayurvedic methods. Speaking to The Indian Express, Madhukar described himself as a “farmer” and denied being a qualified doctor, though he acknowledged treating patients. He said he was unaware of his son’s alleged activities. “He told me he was doing practice and also counselling students,” Madhukar said.
Members of ABVP clash with police during a protest outside the NTA office in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Khairnar’s younger brother, Bhavesh, runs a pharmacy and a laboratory in Nandgaon. He was arrested earlier this year after police seized a country-made pistol from him. A case under the Arms Act was registered against Bhavesh and an associate at Nandgaon Police Station. Investigators have not linked that case to the NEET probe. Bhavesh is currently out on bail.
For the seven to eight months before his arrest, Shubham had been living in a rented room in Nashik city, running the consultancy and staying active in NEET counselling circles. Investigators are now examining the full extent of his network and its role in the alleged circulation of the leaked paper.
