CBI Nabs Alleged NEET Paper Leak Kingpin in Pune, Chemistry Professor Accused of Sharing Questions
Pune-based academic accused of leaking confidential NEET questions through private coaching sessions; several middlemen and candidates arrested
NEW DELHI, May 15: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday claimed a major breakthrough in the NEET 2026 paper leak case with the arrest of a Pune-based chemistry professor accused of being the original source of the leaked examination questions.
The accused, Professor P V Kulkarni from Latur, had reportedly served for years as a domain expert on panels involved in preparing the NEET question paper. Investigators alleged that he misused his access to confidential material and conducted secret coaching sessions from his residence in Pune during the last week of April.
According to the agency, Kulkarni dictated questions, answer choices and solutions to selected students days before the NEET-UG examination held on May 3. The material allegedly matched the actual examination paper.
CBI officials said the professor mobilised candidates with the assistance of co-accused Manisha Waghmare, who was arrested earlier this week. Students are believed to have paid several lakh rupees to attend the sessions, where they copied the questions into notebooks for later reference.
The agency said its investigation has identified both the origin of the chemistry paper leak and the network of intermediaries involved in circulating the material among aspirants seeking admission to medical colleges.
Searches carried out at multiple locations across the country over the past 24 hours led to the seizure of electronic devices, documents and mobile phones suspected to contain crucial evidence. Officials said forensic examination of the recovered material is underway.
On Thursday, the CBI arrested Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and Waghmare from Pune. Investigators alleged that Lokhande received the leaked paper through Waghmare and passed it on to Nashik-based Shubham Khairnar, who later shared it with Yash Yadav for wider circulation.
The agency has also arrested Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, along with Yadav from Gurugram and Khairnar from Nashik.
According to officials, Khairnar informed Yadav in April that Mangilal Biwal was willing to pay between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh to secure leaked questions for his younger son. Yadav allegedly supplied hundreds of questions, assuring sufficient marks for admission to a reputed medical college.
Investigators said Mangilal Biwal obtained the material through Yadav, who was reportedly known to his elder son Vikas from a coaching institute in Rajasthan’s Sikar. The paper was later circulated among family members and other aspirants.
The CBI further alleged that Yadav encouraged Vikas Biwal to identify additional NEET candidates interested in purchasing the leaked questions in order to recover part of the payment involved in the deal.
Digital evidence recovered from seized devices reportedly includes chat records, leaked question papers and other incriminating material. Officials said deleted data would also be retrieved through forensic analysis.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test was conducted in 551 cities across India and 14 international centres, with nearly 23 lakh candidates registered this year.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) said information regarding suspected malpractice was received on May 7, four days after the examination, and was immediately shared with central agencies for further investigation.
