The National Testing Agency’s (NTA) paper preparation committee has come under the microscope after another insider was arrested in NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leakage Case.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official told HT that “the entire committee that prepared the paper and other senior officials of the NTA are under scrutiny” and more arrests may be made in the coming days.
Second ‘Kingpin’ of NEET paper leakage issue
Manisha Gurunath Mandhar, a botany teacher in Pune, was arrested on Saturday on charges of leaking questions from a medical entrance exam weeks before the exam was to be conducted.
She was appointed by NTA as an expert and served on the committee preparing the paper. This gave her full access to the newspaper’s confidential botany and zoology sections, investigators said.
Her arrest came one day after the agency Police have arrested retired chemistry lecturer P V Kulkarni, whom investigators described as the “ringleader” of the leak.
“The first time there was a leak was at NTA.”
“This is the first time in the paper leak investigations that we have found the source of the leak at NTA,” a second officer told HT. “Once the paper was leaked and its PDF files were posted on messaging groups, there could have been hundreds of recipients. We will trace them all but first work on the source of the leak and their associates.”
According to the CBI, the Mandir has held up Private coaching classes for selected students at her home in Pune during the month of April. There, she allegedly dictated questions on botany and zoology that later appeared in the NEET-UG 2026 exam held on May 3.
Investigators said the students were brought to her through co-accused Manisha Waghmar, a Pune-based beauty salon owner, who was arrested earlier this week.
“During the classes, Mandhari explained and revealed various questions from the subjects of botany and zoology and made the students write them down in their notebooks and also mark in their textbooks. The majority of these questions corresponded to the actual question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3,” the agency said.
Two sets of leaked papers
Officials said the investigation has found Two separate sets of leaked papers originate from the NTA system: one handwritten and one typed. Investigators say Kulkarni leaked the chemistry paper, while Mandhari allegedly leaked the biology sections.
Kulkarni also allegedly conducted private lessons from his residence in Pune. Investigators said students there copied questions, answer choices and correct answers that were later “exactly matched” to the final exam paper.
On Saturday, the CBI produced Kulkarni and Waghmare before a special court on Delhi’s Ross Street and sought 14 days’ detention, calling them “part of an organized paper leak gang”. The court sentenced the defendants to 10 days in prison at the Central Bank of Iraq.
The agency told the court that the accused destroyed question papers after the May 3 exam to remove evidence. Investigators are also checking whether Kulkarni and Mandhari were involved in earlier leaks of examination papers.
How NEET exam papers were leaked
The probe also tracked how this happened The leaked papers allegedly traveled through intermediaries across several states before reaching the students. Investigators said a PDF file containing about 500-600 questions was distributed across Telegram groups.
According to investigators, Nashik-based Shubham Khairnar passed the material to Yash Yadav, a resident of Gurugram. He then allegedly sold it to Jaipur-based Mangilal Bewal, also known as Mangilal Khatik, for $10 lakh after ensuring that around 150 questions will match the final paper.
Searches at six locations over the past 24 hours led to the recovery of laptops, banking documents, mobile phones and other materials linked to the case.
yet, Nine people were arrested from five states, including Mandir, Kulkarni and Waghmare from Pune; Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar; Khairnar from Nashik; Mangilal Bewal, Vikas Bewal and Dinesh Bewal from Jaipur; Yadav is from Gurugram.
The agency said: “The Commercial International Bank is committed to conducting a comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation into this case.”
NEET-UG, the entrance exam for medical colleges, is taken every year by more than 22 lakh students. After the leak, the May 3 exam was cancelled, and the government announced a re-exam on June 21.
