NEET exam fraud: CBI arrests NTA-linked lecturer, calls him mastermind of question leak

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Pune-based Chemistry lecturer, alleging he was the “kingpin” behind the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak that forced the cancellation of the national medical entrance examination.

The accused, identified as PV Kulkarni, was associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA) as part of the examination process and had access to the NEET-UG 2026 question paper conducted on May 3, according to the probe agency.

Investigators said Kulkarni was part of the panel responsible for setting NEET question papers over several years. A retired college professor, he was detained for questioning on May 14 before being formally arrested.

According to the CBI, Kulkarni, with the help of co-accused Manisha Waghmare, leaked the Chemistry paper and answer key to a group of NEET aspirants during a secret coaching session held at his residence in Pune in the last week of April. Waghmare was arrested on May 14.

“The chemistry lecturer dictated the questions, multiple-choice options and correct answers during the special coaching classes. Students wrote them in their notebooks, and those questions were found to exactly match the NEET-UG 2026 question paper conducted on May 3,” the CBI said in a statement.

The agency said students allegedly paid several lakh rupees to attend the session. It added that the probe had, so far, identified the “actual source” of the Chemistry paper leak.

Seven arrested so far

With Kulkarni’s arrest, the total number of people held in the case has risen to seven.

Among those arrested are Mangi Lal and Dinesh Biwal, relatives from Rajasthan’s Jaipur district, who were initially in Rajasthan Police custody before being taken over by the CBI.

Investigators believe the duo played a key role in spreading the leaked paper network through Rajasthan’s Sikar, a major coaching hub. Sources said that the family may have been involved in leaking and selling medical entrance exam papers in previous years as well.

Police sources alleged that Mangi Lal and Dinesh Biwal not only distributed this year’s leaked paper to coaching institutes in Sikar, but had also procured medical entrance exam papers for family members before allegedly selling them onward in earlier years.

NEET controversy trigger

NEET-UG 2026 was held on May 3 for undergraduate medical admissions, with nearly 22 lakh students appearing for the examination.

On May 12, the NTA cancelled the exam amid mounting allegations of a paper leak and an expanding police investigation in Rajasthan.

“The National Testing Agency is aware of reports concerning action initiated by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group in connection with alleged irregularities around NEET (UG) 2026. The examination on May 3 was conducted as scheduled and under full security protocol,” the NTA had said in a post on X on May 10.

The first breakthrough in the case came from the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG), which found that a handwritten “guess paper” partially matched the actual NEET paper.

Investigators later found that all 90 Biology questions and all 45 Chemistry questions from the NEET exam appeared in the so-called guess paper, which contained 281 questions in total.

The NEET examination consists of 180 questions, each carrying four marks.