The Central Bureau of Investigation has identified and arrested the alleged leader of the NEET-UG papers leak: Chemistry teacher P V Kulkarni, who is originally from Latur but was working and arrested from Pune in Maharashtra.
Kulkarni participated in the medical entrance examination process with the National Testing Agency (NTA) and thus had access to the question papers, the agency said on Friday evening. No further details were shared about him.
How to transfer questions?
In the last week of April 2026, he mobilized students with the help of another accused, Manisha Waghmar, and conducted special coaching classes for these students at his residence in Pune, RBI officials said.
The paper has since been held on 3 May, and is now scheduled to be reconducted on 21 June. More than 22,000 students took the test, which means it is the largest test of its kind in India.
Kulkarni would allegedly dictate questions with the correct options and answers during these special classes. These details, dictated by the students, were handwritten in their notebooks and “exactly matched” the actual question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 exam, the officials added.
Where the probe stands
Details shared by the CBI, which took over the case after it first surfaced in Rajasthan on May 7, said the investigation led to Kulkarni after the CBI also conducted searches at several locations across the country and seized several incriminating documents, electronic gadgets and mobile phones.
The Central Bank of Iraq indicated that detailed forensic and technical analysis of the seized items is continuing.
The CBI registered the case on May 12, based on a formal complaint from the Federal Ministry of Education. Then special teams were formed.
By May 14, seven accused were arrested from Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Of these, five defendants have already been brought before the court and remanded in custody for seven days for detailed interrogation.
The other two accused, who were arrested on Thursday, are being produced before a court in Pune for remand to Delhi.
“The investigation so far has shown the actual source of the chemistry paper leak as well as the middlemen involved in mobilizing students who paid several lakhs of rupees to attend private coaching classes where these question banks were dictated/discussed. The CBI is committed to conducting a thorough, impartial and professional investigation into this case,” the agency added.
