There are protests across the country against the National Testing Agency following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 exam due to an alleged paper leak. File | Photo credit: PTI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday (May 16, 2026) arrested a biology lecturer from Pune in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
Manisha Gurunath Mandhare was appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an expert and was involved in the examination process this year.
“She had full access to botany and zoology question papers. During April 2026, she mobilized potential NEET exam candidates through Pune-based Manisha Waghmare (already arrested on May 14) and conducted special coaching classes for these students at her headquarters in Pune,” the agency said.
According to the CBI, during these classes, Ms. Mandhare explained and revealed various questions from Botany and Zoology, made the students note the same in their notebooks and also noted them in their textbooks. Most of these questions matched the actual question paper of the NEET UG 2026 exam held on May 3,” the CBI said.
In the last 24 hours, the CBI conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized laptops, bank statements and mobile phones.
The agency has so far arrested nine accused in the case. Pune chemistry lecturer PV Kulkarni has been accused of leaking chemistry questions. The agency claimed that he had access to the question papers because he was allegedly involved in the examination process on behalf of the NTA.
He also allegedly mobilized students during the last week of April 2026 with the help of Mrs. Waghmare, a beauty salon owner. The “Kingpin” conducted special coaching classes for them at his headquarters in Pune and dictated the questions, answer options and correct answers, which the students wrote down in their notebooks. The questions are said to have exactly matched those in the actual test paper.
Others arrested in the case are Dhananjay Lokhande of Ahilyanagar and Shubham Khairnar of Nashik in Maharashtra; Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Rajasthan; and Yash Yadav from Gurugram, Haryana
The CBI registered the case on May 12 based on a written complaint by the higher education department of the education ministry. Special teams were formed to create leads and track down the recipients and suspects, including those involved in the distribution of the “guess” paper that exactly matched the real paper.
Appointed by the NTA
The Center on Saturday appointed two joint secretaries and joint directors to the NTA.
Anuja Bapat, a 1998-batch Indian Statistical Service officer, and Ruchita Vij, a 2004-batch officer in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS, Customs and Indirect Taxes) will be the new joint secretaries in the NTA for a period of five years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
Akash Jain, an IRS officer (income tax), and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya, an Indian audit and accounts officer, have been appointed as joint directors in the NTA, the DoPT said in a separate order.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – 16 May 2026 16:16 IST
