- By Surarika Das
- Sun, 17 May 2026 09:31 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that the entire National Testing Agency (NTA) is under scrutiny. The team revealed that it's the first time when the source of the leak is within the agency. The investigating officers claimed this following the second arrest of professor in the NEET UG paper leak case.
The CBI arrested Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a Pune-based botany teacher, on Saturday. She is accused of allegedly leaking the questions of Zoology and Botany to her students.
Mandhare used to conduct classes at her Pune home, where she allegedly dictated the questions that later appeared in the NEET UG 2026. Initial findings reveal that the students were brought to her by a beauty parlour owner, who was apprehended earlier this week. Mandhare instructed the students to note the questions in their notebooks and mark them in their textbooks. Majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3,” the Hindustan Times quoted the agency as saying.
The Chemistry papers were leaked by PV Kulkarni. He too took classes at his Pune residence. Students there copied questions, answer options, and correct answers that later “exactly tallied” with the final exam paper, investigators said.
According to the officials, they recovered two sets of leaked papers originating from within the NTA. One of them is handwritten while the other is typed.
How Were The Papers Leaked?
The probe uncovered how the leaked papers allegedly moved through middlemen across several states before reaching students. Investigators said a PDF containing around 500-600 questions circulated through Telegram groups.
The agency revealed Nashik-based Shubham Khairnar passed the material to Gurugram resident Yash Yadav. He then allegedly sold it to Jaipur-based Mangilal Biwal, also identified as Mangilal Khatik, for Rs10 lakh after assuring that around 150 questions would match the final paper.
The CBI officials, on Saturday, produced Kulkarni and Waghmare before a special court in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue and sought 14 days of custody, calling them “part of an organised paper leak gang." The court sent both accused to 10 days of CBI custody.
The investigators told the court that the accused destroyed the question papers after the examination to tamper with evidence.
On Friday, the team arrested Kulkarni for leaking the Chemistry papers.
So far, nine people from five states have been arrested, including Mandhare, Kulkarni, and Waghmare from Pune; Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar; Khairnar from Nashik; Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur; and Yadav from Gurugram.
NEET-UG, the entrance exam for medical colleges, is taken every year by more than 22 lakh students. After the leak, the May 3 examination was cancelled, and the government announced a retest on June 21.