CBI hunts ‘source’ of NEET-UG 2026 paper leak as probe widens to NTA officials
This was submitted to a local court by the agency on Sunday for custodial interrogation of Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior botany teacher from Pune and one of the other accused in the case.
The court noted the affidavit of the CBI lawyer in its order stating that the CBI had sought custody of Mandhare “to unravel the larger conspiracy and the source of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper”. The agency stated that Mandhare should be taken to various parts of the country to “identify and arrest co-accused to recover and analyze digital devices, evidence and financial traces linked to NEET-UG 2026.”
The CBI lawyer maintained that the “entire NTA process” and the allegation that NTA officials were behind the leak were under the CBI scanner. Underlining the “larger conspiracy” in this case, the institution stated that other members of “this syndicate” should also be identified and arrested.
“There is a larger conspiracy angle in the case and according to CBI, some other accused who are active members of this organization are yet to be identified and arrested,” the court order said. The court also noted the CBI’s allegation that an “organized paper leak gang” was involved in the present case. Observing that “the investigation is in its initial and crucial stage”, the court placed Mandhare in CBI custody for 14 days.
CBI alleged that Mandhare (57) conspired with Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare. “He was one of the experts in the NTA panel and was involved in the creation of question papers through which he gained access to the final question sets of NEET-UG 2026 and later leaked them to students for monetary gain,” the agency said.
The CBI has asked for Mandhare’s 14-day custodial interrogation “to unravel the larger conspiracy and source” of the leaked question paper. The agency alleged that Mandhare provided exam-related questions/content to selected students in exchange for a significant amount of money. In the report filed earlier this week, the CBI had alleged that in April, co-accused Mangilal Biwal from Jaipur approached Shubham from Nashik to arrange question papers for his minor son before the exam for ₹ 10-12 lakh, and he in turn informed co-accused Yash Yadav.
On April 29, Shubham asked Yash Yadav to provide original class 10 and 12 documents, NEET roll number details and a check from Mangilal as security deposit. On April 29, Shubham allegedly informed Yash Yadav that he would leak Physics, Chemistry and Biology question papers of 500-600 questions, which would ensure good marks and admission in reputed medical colleges. Another accused Dhananjay Lokhande, who was known to Shubham, collected NEET exam material for 2026 from fellow accused Manisha Waghmare in Pune.
He received the leaked paper from Waghmare and forwarded it to Shubham. CBI claims to have recovered Yash Yadav’s WhatsApp chats with Shubham from Yash Yadav’s mobile phone. The agency told the court that Shubham deleted the incriminating chat but it was seized for forensic analysis. Yash Yadav allegedly distributed the question paper to other accused for monetary gain.
