The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more accused persons in connection with alleged irregularities in the paper leak related to the NEET-UG 2026 examination. The total number of arrests in the case has risen to seven.
“Two more accused persons, one from Pune and one from Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra, have been arrested in the last 24 hours. The total number of arrests has risen to seven,” ANI reported.
The two accused arrested have been identified as Dhananjay Lokhanda of Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra) and Manisha Waghmare, Pune (Maharashtra).
Five accused — three from Jaipur, one from Gurugram and one from Nashik — were arrested on Wednesday. CBI counsel Neetu Singh said the accused Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Maharashtra and Yash Yadav from Gurugram were arrested in Jaipur.
The CBI had earlier conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours in connection with alleged irregularities in the paper leak related to the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
Here’s everything you need to know:
1. A Rouse Avenue court on Thursday granted seven-day remand to the five accused arrested in the NEET UG paper leak case, news agency ANI reported.
CBI produced accused Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar and Yash Yadav before the court. Special Judge (CBI) Ajay Gupta sent them to CBI custody for seven days. Court directed CBI to produce all accused persons on 20.05.2026.
2. Granting police custody, the court observed, “It is alleged that accused Dinesh Biwal, who is the brother of accused Mangilal and also a relative of accused Yash Yadav, facilitated the distribution of NEET questions in conspiracy with co-accused persons.”
The court said that a larger conspiracy angle is allegedly present in this case and the investigation is in its infancy, ANI reported.
The custody of the accused persons was sought with a view to uncovering the entire conspiracy, arresting all active members of this organized paper leak gang and also obtaining all relevant incriminating material.
The detention of these accused persons is also aimed at preventing further manipulation of evidence, as some of the accused have allegedly already deleted the incriminating data from their mobile phones, the court noted.
3. The CBI alleged that Mangilal Bjval contacted Shubham Khairnar through Yash Yadav to get the NEET question for Vikas Biwal. Question papers were recovered from Mangilal Biwala’s mobile phone, ANI reported.
Mangilal received Yash Yadav’s leaked NEET UG Paper for the deal ₹10 lakhs. During interrogation, Mangilal’s son Vikas Biwal said that he came in contact with Yash Yadav during coaching. The CBI claimed that the accused Dinesh Biwal is the brother of Vikas Biwal, according to ANI.
It was alleged that Shubham first leaked the paper to Yash, then Yash to Mangilal, Vikas and Dinesh Biwala.
4. The CBI on Thursday arrested a retired faculty member of a local college in Maharashtra’s Latur in connection with the probe into the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak, an official told PTI. Latur city is known as a hub for coaching classes and attracts students from all over Maharashtra.
5. The CBI has arrested two more people in connection with the NEET (UG) paper leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organizations who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The CBI is focusing on identifying the source of the leak, which has caused huge disappointment to thousands of aspirants eyeing seats in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after a highly competitive examination, officials told PTI.
NEET (UG) 2026 cancelled
NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted in 551 Indian cities and 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 thousand candidates registered for the test which was administered by NTA at centers across the country.
A student’s parent filed a complaint with the police office here on Tuesday, alleging that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute in Latur were identical to those that appeared in NEET.
According to the NTA, information about the alleged misconduct was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for “independent verification and necessary action”.
The Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) claimed that the chemistry ‘guess’ that was allegedly circulated among students ahead of the exam had around 410 questions, including around 120 that appeared in the test.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
