Wedding at home, hearing in court: NEET-UG case casts long shadow on Gurgaon family

5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 15, 2026 03:26 PM IST

A poster with Yash Yadav's photograph, with “MBBS selection” written next to it; on Sunday, it was found ripped. (Express Photo)

A block away from Yash Yadav family’s home in Khera Khurrampur village in Gurgaon, remnants of a torn poster can be seen on a wall on the street. Months ago, it carried a smiling photograph of the 20-year-old alongside the words “MBBS Selection” and “Heartiest Congratulations”.

Last month, Yash became the talk of the town once again after his name surfaced in one of the country’s biggest examination scandals — he was arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak that has led to the cancellation of the exam and sparked massive outrage.

Now, parts of the poster have been ripped away. His face is barely visible and the congratulatory message has vanished.

The family’s home in Khera Khurrampur village in Gurgaon. (Express Photo)

Yash, a first-year student at an Ayurvedic college in Uttarakhand, is currently lodged in judicial custody while investigators probe allegations that leaked examination material was circulated among candidates before the medical entrance examination.

Back at home, preparations were underway for his elder sister Neha’s wedding on June 23. Relatives started arriving at the family’s house and decorations were being planned.

Amid the celebrations, the family is awaiting a Delhi court decision on June 16 on Yash’s plea for interim bail — to appear for the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled on June 21 and attend his sister’s wedding two days later.

“Yash was abruptly taken away by a few men in the middle of the night. We had no idea why he was being summoned. Since then, our father has been running around for help with my brother’s case,” said Neha, a law student at SGT University in Gurgaon.

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Earlier this month, the court had allowed Yash to keep study material while in custody after his lawyers argued that he was preparing for the re-examination. “The books have reached him,” his lawyer, Ambika Yadav, told The Indian Express ahead of the hearing.

On his interim bail application, she said, “One ground is the NEET examination. We are waiting for his admit card. The second is his sister’s marriage. If the court is kind enough to grant interim bail, let’s see.”

Even as he studies behind bars, uncertainty hangs over whether he will be allowed to take the test at all. During the hearing on his interim bail plea, the court noted that no admit card had yet been issued to him and sought clarity on whether the National Testing Agency (NTA) would permit an accused in the paper leak case to appear for the examination.

According to his lawyer, no official communication on that issue has yet reached the defence. “Nothing has been specified. Nothing has been sent in writing. What is happening between the CBI and NTA is not in our knowledge,” Ambika said.

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Family maintains his innocence

For the family, however, the legal proceedings are only one part of a difficult month.

When The Indian Express visited Khera Khurrampur on Sunday, relatives and neighbours described a household caught between celebration and anxiety.

Yash’s mother, who suffers from blood pressure-related ailments, told The Indian Express that the family has been struggling to cope with the sudden arrest.

Neha has maintained that her brother has been wrongly implicated. “They have not found any evidence or money trail linked to my brother unlike the others. He is unfairly inside,” she said.

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According to the family, Yash had returned home from Uttarkashi earlier in March this year after suffering a foot injury and was preparing to take the NEET examination again. He had hoped to secure admission to an MBBS programme through another attempt at the examination.

The case

The case stems from the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 after authorities alleged that question papers had been leaked before the test. More than 22.7 lakh candidates had appeared for the examination nationwide.

According to the CBI, which is probing the case, Yash was among a group of students who allegedly received leaked examination material through a larger network that investigators claim involved candidates, intermediaries, teachers and individuals linked to examination processes.

Yash, the probe agency said, allegedly received PDF files containing leaked questions through Telegram and subsequently distributed them further. The agency has also alleged that money changed hands in connection with the leaked material.

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Investigators claimed the alleged network began when Rajasthan resident Mangilal Biwal sought access to the question paper for his son, Vikas. According to the CBI, the paper was first leaked by Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Maharashtra, and passed through multiple individuals, eventually reaching several candidates.

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Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions.

Professional Profile

Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region.

Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice.

Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility.

She has also reported widely on:

* Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs

* Policy responses to campus mental health

* Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University

* Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy

Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US.

Reporting Style

Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025)

1. Express Investigation Series

JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025)

An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors.

JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025)

The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus.

2. International Education & Immigration

‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025)

H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025)

Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025)

What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025)

Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025)

‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025)

3. Academic Freedom & Policy

Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025)

Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025)

SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU

A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses.

4. Mental Health on Campuses

In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025)

Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025)

5. Delhi Schools

These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025)

‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.

Education

- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)

- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)

Professional Experience

Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.

Reporting Interests

His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.

Recent Coverage (2025)

- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).

- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).

- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).

- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.

- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).

- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).

Contact

X (Twitter): @AB_Hazardous ... Read More

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