Manisha Waghmare, a 46-year-old woman from Maharashtra's Pune, is one of the key masterminds in the NEET-UG paper leak case. The Central Bureau of Investigation has found out that the woman acted as a common thread between students searching for tutors and teachers from reputed schools. The investigation revealed that Waghmare allegedly used her contacts to circulate the NEET-UG exam papers in return for monetary gains.

The CBI officers claimed that several students approached Waghmare to find good tuition teachers. Over time, the beauty parlour owner made contacts with both students and teachers. Waghmare then discovered that Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a member of the National Testing Agency’s question-setting panel for NEET-UG 2026, had access to the final examination papers.

She then plotted with Mandhere and retired teacher PV Kulkarni to leak the question papers. They managed to find students and guardians who were willing to buy the papers and pay a heavy amount for them, the agency said.

The CBI stated that Waghmare fixed deals worth nearly Rs 10 lakh per student. As per reports, the accused planned to divide Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh among themselves from each deal.

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The CBI told the court that Mandhare allegedly had complete access to the Botany and Zoology papers as part of her role in the NTA question-setting process.

Students Were Recruited Through Contacts

The agency claimed that Waghmare allegedly arranged four to five students through her existing network.

She later reportedly shared the plan with an old friend, Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande, who then met Shubham Khairnar, a counselling business operator based in Nashik.

Investigators said that Lokhande received the leaked NEET papers from Waghmare and supplied them to Khairnar.

Khairnar then allegedly circulated PDF files of the paper to Gurugram resident Yash Yadav and later to individuals in Jaipur. Yadav has also been arrested in the case.

Multiple arrests

Waghmare was apprehended on May 14 and sent to CBI custody for 10 days beginning May 16. Kulkarni was also remanded along with her. On Sunday, a Delhi court granted the CBI 14 days’ custody of Mandhare. The agency described the Pune professor as one of the alleged masterminds behind the leak.

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The agency said the investigation was still at a “very initial and crucial stage" and that several members of the alleged organised paper leak network were yet to be identified and arrested.

Apart from Waghmare and Madhere, seven other people have been arrested in the case. The accused include Dhananjay Lokhanda, Shubham Khairnar, Mangilal Biwal, alias Mangilal Khatik, Vikas Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, and Yash Yadav.