The cancelled medical exams that sparked protests, a resit and tragedy

More than 2 million students across India have resat the country's highly competitive medical entrance exam after last month's results were scrapped amid allegations that questions had been leaked.

The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) is the gateway to medical schools across India, and is usually conducted just once a year in May.

But it was conducted again on Sunday under unprecedented security measures, with authorities deploying thousands of personnel and even using military aircraft to transport exam papers.

Students emerged from exam centres across the country to emotional scenes, greeted by relieved parents after weeks of uncertainty.

"It was hard, but it's over finally," student Namya Modi said.

"The moment I handed over my answers, it felt like I got my soul back."

The retest follows one of the biggest controversies in the history of India's education system.

Authorities ordered the exam to be conducted again after allegations that question papers had been leaked, casting doubt over the results and triggering outrage among students and families.

Last month, about a dozen people were arrested over the leak, including a chemistry lecturer from the city of Latur, Shri P V Kulkarni, whom the government labelled the "kingpin" of the operation.

According to the government, Mr Kulkarni had early access to the test and shared it with the students he tutored. From there, it is alleged the questions were spread through social media, and were sold online through encrypted apps such as Telegram.

The scandal has reignited concerns about the integrity of India's high-stakes examination system, where millions of students compete for a limited number of places in colleges for careers like medicine and engineering every year.

At exam centres in the capital New Delhi, students were subjected to extensive security checks before being allowed inside: IDs were verified, and candidates passed through metal detectors and were searched to ensure they were not carrying electronic devices or notes.

Outside, anxious parents waited for more than three hours as their children sat the exam, crowding around the gate as the 5:30pm deadline approached.

Ms Modi's father, Nilesh, said after the government cancelled the first results he could not stop crying.

"It's stressful. You cannot describe it in words."

Tragedy unfolds after NEET cancellation

For some families, the fallout from the controversy has been devastating.

Pradeep Mahich had chased a place in medical school for years, sitting India's fiercely competitive entrance exam three times.

The 22-year-old grew up in a small farming village in Rajasthan, where he watched his father, Rajesh Kumar, labour in the fields.

Mr Kumar dreamed of a different life for his only son, one built through education rather than agriculture.

"I sold my ancestral land so that my son could fulfil his dream," the 45-year-old said.

"He had the willpower to become a good doctor, a good person. It was his dream."

After Mr Mahich's fourth attempt in May, he told his sister this time he would qualify for medical school.

"He told me … after he became a doctor, we would take care of our younger sisters' education so that they could also get jobs," 24-year-old Babita Mahich said.

But in the days after the government cancelled the results, Mr Mahich took his own life.

Ms Mahich believes the uncertainty played a significant role in his death.

"He thought he got good marks this time," she said.

"He kept thinking about resitting the exam, what the questions would be and what would happen if he didn't do as well."

Mr Kumar wants the authorities to be accountable.

"We lost our son due to the failure of the government," he said. "There must be strict laws against leaks.

"We lost our Pradeep, but we can help stop other children from taking that step."

CJP protesters stage sit-in calling for minister's resignation

While exam paper leaks have plagued India for years, the decision to scrap the results triggered outrage among students and families.

Pradeep was one of about half a dozen students who took their lives in the aftermath of the cancellation, local media reports said.

The deaths fuelled protests that erupted across several Indian cities over the weekend, led by the emerging political activist group the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has tapped into growing frustration among young people over corruption and failures in the education system.

"We feel like we are being betrayed by our own government," demonstrator Veer Saini said at a protest in Delhi over the weekend.

The CJP was initially a satirical name used by some critics online to criticise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government after remarks by the country's chief justice referring to young people out of work as cockroaches, something the chief justice has said was taken out of context.

"We are the youth; we are the future of India. We can make India better, but education is the backbone of any country," said Riya, another protester who supports the CJP.

The CJP organised a rally on Saturday in New Delhi and refused to move on when its permit expired that evening, instead staging a sit-in that was ongoing as of Monday, local time.

CJP founder, 30-year-old Abijeet Dipke, published an open letter last week to the BJP calling for it to hold Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable for the "collapse" of India's education system.

"If swift and decisive action is not taken to address these systemic failures and change the leadership responsible for them, it inadvertently sends a message that the administration accepts the status quo," the letter read.

The education department and Mr Pradhan were approached for comment.