# CISF to guard NTA office after NEET paper leak

2026-09-27T08:51:17+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 4 independent outlets

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has moved its confidential operations to a new office in central Delhi, where 39 CISF personnel will provide security and access control. The move follows the NEET-UG paper leak and lapses flagged in a CBI chargesheet, which found that subject experts were not frisked and could copy question portions onto chits. The agency's new premises at the Government of India Press building on Minto Road have designated confidential areas with strict monitoring. The CBI chargesheet identified three subject experts as primary sources of the leak, noting the absence of a dedicated CCTV live-feed monitoring control room at NTA's earlier Okhla office. The Supreme Court had reprimanded the NTA, saying it had 'not learnt its lessons'. NTA is now implementing additional measures including encryption, immutable logging, tamper-evident storage, and security readiness reviews before each exam cycle. A chief information security officer is being recruited, and independent cybersecurity audits by CERT-In and C-DAC empanelled agencies are ongoing.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

All four outlets report the same facts from the PTI wire, making the coverage uniform straight reporting. Newindianexpress.com and nationalheraldindia.com lead with the CISF deployment as a security overhaul, while siasat.com and hindustantimes.com also mention the resignation of the education minister and the Nandan Nilekani task force, framing the move as a response to a broader political crisis. The stances differ only in emphasis: the latter two outlets connect the paper leak to higher-level accountability, but none adopt a critical or pro-government tone. The key question is whether the new measures, including the CISO role and independent audits, will prevent future leaks. The Radhakrishnan committee's recommendations from 2024 had not prevented the 2026 leak, and the Nandan Nilekani panel is yet to submit its report. The Supreme Court's reprimand underscores the stakes as NTA prepares for the next exam cycle.

## Coverage

- newindianexpress.com (neutral report) <https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Sep/27/neet-paper-leak-fallout-cisf-to-guard-nta-office-tighter-controls-in-confidential-areas>
  Leads with security overhaul, no political context added
- siasat.com (neutral report) <https://www.siasat.com/cisf-to-guard-nta-office-amid-paper-leak-concerns-3548980/>
  Includes education minister resignation and task force details
- nationalheraldindia.com (neutral report) <https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/neet-paper-leak-impact-cisf-to-guard-nta-premises-tighter-monitoring-of-confidential-areas>
  Leads with CISF deployment, mentions Supreme Court reprimand
- hindustantimes.com (neutral report) <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nta-office-to-get-cisf-security-after-neet-paper-leak-controversy-new-minto-road-premises-101790498882356.html>
  Includes resignation and task force, frames as response to crisis

Tags: CBI, CISF, NEET-UG, NTA, Supreme Court
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