The NEET Paper Leak Operation Functioned Through Three Key Layers – Insiders with Access to Papers, Recruiters Who Connected Students and Accused, and Middlemen
The alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper has widened dramatically, with the CBI now probing not just a network of middlemen and coaching links, but also insiders within the NTA.
The investigation has already led to nine arrests across five states in four days and has forced more than 2.2 million aspirants to prepare for a re-examination scheduled for June 21.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, two separate sets of question papers were leaked by two members of the NTA’s paper-setting committee and then circulated through a chain of intermediaries before reaching students ahead of the May 3 exam.
A senior botany teacher from Pune, and PV Kulkarni, both of whom were appointed by the NTA as experts on the NEET-UG 2026 paper-setting panel.
How the Leak Started Inside NTA
Mandhare and Kulkarni had direct access to the botany and zoology papers because she was appointed by the NTA as an expert for the examination process.
“She was involved in the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and appointed by NTA as an expert. She had complete access to the Botany and Zoology question papers,” the probe agency said.
Investigators said Mandhare allegedly began sharing questions with selected students during April itself – nearly weeks before the examination.
At her residence, she allegedly conducted coaching sessions where students were asked to write down questions and mark answers in textbooks.
“During classes, Mandhare explained and disclosed various questions from Botany and Zoology subjects and made the students note down the same in their notebooks and also mark in their textbooks. The majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper of NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3,” the CBI said.
Officials said Kulkarni allegedly played a similar role with the chemistry section of the paper.
Coaching Notes, PDFs and Gurugram Dealer
As the investigation progressed, officials said, two sets of leaked material emerged from inside the NTA — one handwritten and another typed.
Officials alleged that Kulkarni leaked the chemistry paper, while Mandhare leaked botany and zoology questions. From there, the leaked questions allegedly moved through a chain of middlemen spread across six states.
Investigators believe the questions first circulated as coaching notes prepared during the Pune classes. Those notes were then allegedly converted into a PDF containing nearly 500 to 600 questions.
That PDF was later circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the examination.
Officials said the leaked material traveled from Nashik-based accused Shubham Khairnar to Gurugram-based Yash Yadav.
Yadav allegedly sold the paper set to Mangilal Biwal, also identified in court records as Mangilal Khatik, for ₹10 lakh. Investigators alleged the deal depended on at least 150 questions matching the actual NEET paper.
The CBI said Mangilal later distributed printed copies among relatives, his son’s friends and a teacher identified as Satyanarayan.
Beauty Parlour Link
The CBI has also identified Pune-based beauty parlour owner Manisha Waghmare as a crucial link in the network.
Waghmare, arrested
