The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to file a second and final chargesheet following its probe into the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 within a week. It has reportedly established the role of 13 individuals in the case; however, the probe agency did not implicate any central government officials or National Testing Agency officials.

The 13 individuals in the chargesheet include NTA-appointed subject experts, coaching centre operators, middlemen and candidates. “The agency will not implicate any government official - including the NTA office bearers - in its concluding charge sheet. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the leak didn’t establish anyone else’s role beyond private individuals,” HT quoted an investigating official as saying.

The NEET-UG 2026 paper had been cancelled on May 12, a week after the exams were conducted. The development was followed after 120 questions in a guess paper were found to be common with the NEET exam paper, taken on May 3.

The first chargesheet also named 13 individuals

The first charge sheet in the paper leak was filed on July 28, naming 13 accused persons, including three NTA-appointed subject experts: Manisha Gurunath Mandhare for Botany and Zoology, Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni for Chemistry, and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar for Physics. Others included Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, Dr Manoj Shirure, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Madhukar Khairnar, Dhananjay Lokhande, Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, and Vikas Biwal.

Earlier, the CBI stated that it kept open the probe into the role of “other conspirators” to submit the experts’ opinion reports from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Government Examiner of Questioned Documents (GEQD) and Delhi University experts.

The probe agency has since arrested three more individuals who were alleged beneficiaries of paper leaks through coaching centres. “The roles of these three individuals, along with the findings of the forensic experts, will be detailed in the concluding charge sheet, which we will file within a week. A thorough investigation was conducted to ascertain whether any NTA official or other government official was involved in the leak, but no such involvement was found,” an official reportedly said.

The NEET-UG Paper Leak Protest

The paper leak triggered massive protests across the country, led by the youth-centric Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) earlier this year. Demonstrations intensified through June and July 2026, leading to high-profile "Sansad Chalo" marches and police crackdowns. Amid intense public pressure and accountability demands, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25, 2026, and was replaced by Pralhad Joshi.

Massive changes in NTA

In recent months, the government announced massive changes in NTA. The Union education ministry on August 17 removed 50 NTA staff. NTA subsequently said its examination team was revamped, with 600 subject experts removed and new experts brought in, besides the introduction of a four-tier question-paper scrutiny system.