The Center on Saturday appointed two joint secretaries and two joint directors of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has come under scrutiny over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak controversy.
According to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Anuja Bapat, a 1998-batch officer of the Indian Statistical Service, and Ruchita Vij, a 2004-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), have been appointed joint secretaries in the agency for a period of five years, according to PTI.
In a separate order, the ministry said Akash Jain of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service have been appointed as joint directors in the NTA for a tenure of 4 December 2029 and 16 May 2028, respectively.
NEET-UG Paper Leak Case Latest Update
A Pune college on Saturday said disciplinary proceedings would be initiated against biology lecturer Manisha Gurunath Mandhare after she was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
Mandhare, who served on NTA’s paper-making committee for NEET-UG held on May 3, was arrested after being questioned at the agency’s headquarters in New Delhi.
“Mandhare has been working in the junior college section since 2002 and has been teaching biology to class 11 and 12 students for the past 24 years. Due to her teaching experience, Mandhare has been appointed by the National Testing Agency for some confidential work related to the NEET examination process,” Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce said, PTI reported.
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The Pune-based college said the work entrusted to Manish Gurunath Mandhare by the NTA was “completely confidential in nature”, with all communications and instructions exchanged directly between the agency and the individual concerned.
As a result, neither the school management nor its parent institution were directly involved in the process, Principal Nivedita Ekbote said in a statement.
‘Kingpin’ Kulkarni, accused Waghmare sent to 10-day CBI custody
A Delhi court on Saturday sent the alleged mastermind of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case PV Kulkarni along with co-accused Manisha Waghmare to CBI custody for 10 days.
Read also | Doctors body moves SC seeking dissolution of NTA after NEET-UG paper leak
Special CBI judge Ajay Gupta issued the order after the agency informed the court that the two accused must be transferred outside New Delhi for further investigation and that the wider conspiracy behind the alleged leak was still being probed, according to the report.
Appearing for the agency, Special Public Prosecutor Neetu Gupta sought a 14-day remand to facilitate their interrogation.
During the hearing, the CBI told the court that Kulkarni was a subject expert who was involved in preparing the question paper of NEET-UG 2026. The agency further alleged that co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande had obtained the leaked material from Waghmare.
Read also | NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: ‘Mastermind’ Manish Mandhare arrested in Delhi
The CBI filed a case and formed special teams to probe the alleged leak of the NEET-UG question paper, leading to the cancellation of the probe conducted on May 3.
About 23 thousand candidates appeared for the medical entrance test conducted by NTA nationwide.
According to the NTA, it received information about the alleged misconduct on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was carried out.
Meanwhile, the NEET-UG reexamination is scheduled to be held on June 21.
