Pune school principal shared NEET-related questions for money: CBI tells court

A Pune school principal arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case allegedly shared exam-related questions and content with several students for monetary benefits, the CBI told a court in Pune.

The federal agency made the application during its request for the arrest of school principal Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, sources said on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

The Central Intelligence Bureau (CBI) arrested Ms. Havaldar on Friday, May 22, 2026, describing her as another “source” of the alleged document leak. Ms. Havaldar, principal of Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala, worked as a staff translator in Physics for National Eligibility and Undergraduate Entrance Test (NEET UG)-2026.

Following his arrest, he was produced before a court in Pune and is currently in transit detention. He is likely to appear in a court in Delhi on Monday, May 25, 2026.

The CBI informed the Pune court that investigation into the case showed that Ms. Havaldar had allegedly shared NEET-related questions and content with several students in exchange for monetary benefits, in collusion with botany teacher Manisha Mandhare, who is currently in custody.

Sources said the CBI told the court that the handwritten notes containing NEET-related questions were prepared and preserved by Havaldar during his tenure as NTA (National Testing Agency).

It was alleged that the confidential material was used to convey exam-related content to some students through WhatsApp and printouts ahead of the NEET UG-2026 exam.

Sources admitted that Ms. Havaldar had shared the Physics questions in NEET UG-2026, which she had translated or reverse translated, with a student and botany lecturer Manisha Mandhare from College of Modern Arts and Science, Pune.

Investigation revealed that Ms. Havaldar claimed to have received ₹20,000 from a student and ₹25,000 from another person, the CBI told the court, sources said.

Ms. Havaldar allegedly deleted all her conversations with Ms. Mandhare and burned the notes containing the Physics question bank.

On May 12, the National Testing Agency canceled the NEET-UG held on May 3 for medical admissions following allegations of paper leak. The exam was planned to be held again on June 21.

The CBI registered its case in the matter on the same day, based on a written complaint by the Higher Education Department under the Ministry of Education.

So far, 11 accused from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar have been arrested in this case, the CBI spokesperson said on Friday, May 22, 2026.

The agency said the investigation so far has revealed the true source of the document leak.