The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested P.V. Kulkarni, described as the alleged mastermind behind the NEET UG 2026 paper leak, and his associate Manisha Waghmare from Pune.
Subsequently, CBI produced them before the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi. The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in what is shaping up to be one of the most serious examination fraud cases in India's recent history.
The examination was held on May 3 but was cancelled on May 12 due to the leak, and will now be held again on June 21. Around 22 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam.
The case first came to light in Rajasthan on May 7.
According to the Latur police, some parents had lodged complaints alleging that 42 questions from a mock test conducted by a coaching institute completely matched the questions in the NEET UG exam held on May 3. The CBI subsequently took over and traced the chain of the leak back to its source.
Who Is P.V. Kulkarni?
Identified as PV Kulkarni, the accused was linked to the exam process on behalf of the National Testing Agency, which conducted the cancelled test.
Officials told PTI that Kulkarni had served on the panel that prepared the NEET question paper for years. The chemistry teacher from Pune retired around four years ago from a reputed college in Maharashtra's Latur district.
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Exploiting his privileged access to confidential material, Kulkarni hosted special coaching classes at his house in the last week of April and dictated to his students questions, options and answers which appeared in the NEET UG paper on May 3.
The CBI said that during these special classes, the chemistry lecturer "dictated the questions with options and correct answers, which students wrote down in their notebooks. These handwritten notes matched exactly with the actual NEET-UG 2026 question paper."
The CBI found that co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande had received the paper from Manisha Waghmare and passed it on to Nashik-based Shubham Khairnar, who in turn passed it on to Yash Yadav, who circulated it further.
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The agency had earlier arrested seven accused persons, including Ms. Waghmare. The others were identified as Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik in Maharashtra; Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Rajasthan; and Yash Yadav from Gurugram, Haryana.
Of them, five accused are currently in CBI custody for interrogation. The remaining two are being produced before a court in Pune to secure transit remand for their transfer to Delhi for further proceedings.
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