The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to file a chargesheet within a week in the NEET-UG 2026 papers leak, naming three teachers – PV Kulkarni, Manisha Mandhare and Manisha Havaldar – as the key individuals behind the leak of chemistry, biology and physics questions, respectively, people familiar with the development said.
The indictment will not name any official at the National Testing Agency (NTA), but officers said all aspects of the investigation “will remain open”. The indictment will be filed within 20 days of the agency taking over the case on May 12.
“We will file a chargesheet within weeks – most likely this week or early next week detailing how NTA certified professors/tutors, coaching brokers and local facilitators who arranged the potential buyers, ran an organized network to leak NEET-UG 2026 exam questions, for which they charged thousands from each buyer,” said an officer, who requested anonymity.
He added: “All other aspects of the investigation, such as the role of government officials, the trail of funds and other people involved in the larger conspiracy, will remain open.”
The CBI has so far arrested 11 accused, including Kulkarni, a former chemistry lecturer at Latur; Mandhare, a botany lecturer in Pune, and Havaldar, a physics teacher in Pune; Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, founder of a prominent medical and engineering entrance exam coaching center in Latur; Manisha Waghmar, a beauty salon owner, served as the main link between Kulkarni, Mandhar and the network of students, brokers and other buyers, Dhananjay Lokhanda, Shubham Khairnar, Mangilal Bewal, Vikas Bewal, Dinesh Bewal and Yash Yadav.
It also recovered sets of leaked questions from the now-canceled NEET-UG 2026 paper, laptops, mobile phones and other devices, which are being analyzed by experts and the details recovered will be part of the chargesheet.
Primarily, the two-week CBI investigation identified the three NTA-contracted teachers behind the leak of each subject’s papers: Kulkarni (arrested on May 15) for Chemistry, Mandhare (arrested on May 16) for Botany and Zoology, and Havaldar (arrested on May 22) for Physics. The investigation found that all three had access to the questions days before the actual exam on May 3.
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Kulkarni, according to another CBI official, was one of the authors of the chemistry papers appointed by the NTA. He organized private coaching classes at his residence in Pune in April 2026 with the help of Manisha Waghmar, where leaked chemistry questions, answer options and correct answers were dictated to selected students. The handwritten notes prepared by the students matched the actual NEET paper.
As for Mandhir, the CBI found that the botany lecturer had access to the botany and zoology questions as early as April 27. She mobilized prospective students through co-accused Manisha Waghmar and held classes at her residence in Pune where she explained and unpacked questions and made the students write down the same in their notebooks.
According to the CBI investigation, Havaldar, as an NTA-appointed physicist, had “full access” to the questions. She allegedly shared questions with Mandhare and students. “It was an organized leak involving NTA contractors, middlemen and operators associated with the training, who monetized the access to enrich themselves and give superior advantage to some students. After the exam, they destroyed the question papers and other evidence,” the second officer cited above said.
