New Delhi: The Union government has enlisted the military to protect question papers for the upcoming NEET-UG re-test from being ‘leaked’. A report in the Hindu published Monday, June 8, says the Union ministry of defence has enlisted the Indian Air Force to transport (presumably fly) the new question paper to 18 locations across the country before a crucial entrance test is held on June 21.It is unclear if this measure will work, for the armed forces have their own history of leaked question papers and other failures during testing. Allegations of cheating were levelled in February 2026, leading to 18 candidates being arrested, while charges of a paper leak in 2017 led to cancellation of the Army recruitment board test in six centres. It was also reported in 2021 that two cases of bribery in officers’ recruitment were found true by the Indian Army itself.At the same time, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has reportedly placed an unknown number of paper-setters under “lockdown” until after the date of the test for which they are preparing questions. A report in the Times of India, also published Monday, says the entire batch of experts involved in preparing the re-test paper for National-Elegibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate exam have been “moved to a secure, undisclosed location and placed under strict isolation protocols” until June 21. That is when the cancelled undergraduate examination (earlier held on May 3 and taken by over 20 lakh aspirants keen to enter medical colleges across the country) will be held a second time.The previous NEET-UG test was cancelled last month, sparking widespread outrage and a youth-led protest movement, after it came to light that questions from it had been “leaked”.The Hindu reports that once the latest exam questions are delivered by the IAF to the 18 locations across the country, another “secure” system will ferry the papers onwards to test centres.Until that happens, the Times of India reports, the paper-setters will remain away from contact with the public. Officials told the newspaper that every stage of the examination cycle, from question paper development and translation to moderation, printing, packaging, storage, transportation and distribution, is now being subjected to “enhanced oversight”.It also said that authorities are conducting “the-clock monitoring of social media platforms, messaging applications and online forums to identify fake question papers, misinformation campaigns and suspicious activity”.Already there have been unverified allegations of the new paper, still under development, having been leaked, which the government has denied. “It is learnt that Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has directed officials to ensure that every vulnerability identified in the earlier examination cycle is comprehensively addressed,” the Times of India said.Protesters gathered in large numbers at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday (June 6) to demand the resignation of minister Pradhan himself, saying he should be held accountable for the leak of the NEET-UG as well as previous such leaks.As for enlisting the air force, the allegations levelled against the military-run recruitments in the past place a question mark over the effectiveness of such a measure. Experts and some protesting under the Cockroach Janata Party label have pointed out that the lack of employment opportunities and rush for government jobs is responsible for malpractices rather than just the inability to ensure the ‘security’ and confidentiality of the test papers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tathya India (@tathyaa.in)