NEET aspirant smuggled phone into test centre. Long toilet break gave him away

3 min readJun 22, 2026 11:35 AM IST

An 18-year-old NEET aspirant has been detained in Hyderabad for allegedly cheating during the retest of the all-India medical entrance exam on Sunday. The student’s questioning revealed that he managed to smuggle a mobile phone into the exam centre, but a long toilet break gave him away, police have said.

Officers of Hyderabad’s Adibatla Police Station have said the 18-year-old made a meticulous plan to smuggle the phone into the exam centre. He went to the centre – Ragannaguda Zilla Parishad High School – at 7 am, an hour after the police sanitised the premises. He scaled the school’s compound wall, approached the washroom, and placed a mobile phone near the ventilator. He then returned home, freshened up, and came to the centre to take the test.

Before the exam began, he went to the washroom, put the phone in a bag, and hid it inside the flush tank. Police came for a second round of checks around 11 am, but the phone, hidden inside the flush tank, went undetected.

During the exam, the student complained of a stomachache and asked the invigilator if he could use the washroom. The invigilator allowed, but became suspicious when the student did not return after more than five minutes. The invigilator alerted staff, who entered the washroom and found the student poring over his phone and searching for answers on the Internet.

Caught in the act, the student confessed and was taken into custody. A case of cheating has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 has also been invoked.

20 lakh take retest

Over 20 lakh students across the country took the NEET retest after the May 3 examination was cancelled over an alleged paper leak. In Hyderabad, more than 24,500 students took the test across 66 centres. The process was smooth, though some students reached their exam centres late. Police helped many aspirants find their test centres at the last minute.

The cancellation of the May 3 exam has taken a massive toll on the mental health of the students, who had to prepare for the exam all over again. Several aspirants have died by suicide over the past few weeks, and their families have said they were upset over the exam’s cancellation.

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In Hyderabad, a day before the exam, 19-year-old Sana Sheikh died by suicide. Sana Sheikh, from Proddatur in YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, had been staying with her sister in Hyderabad and preparing for NEET. She left behind a note saying no one was responsible for her death. Police suspect academic pressure and the tension of the retest pushed her to the edge.

Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance.

Expertise and Experience

Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues:

High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules.

Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes.

Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak.

Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More

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