A biology lecturer involved in setting the NEET-UG exam paper has been arrested by the CBI for allegedly leaking questions to students, intensifying the investigation into the nationwide exam scandal.
Key Points
- CBI arrests biology lecturer Manisha Mandhare, an NTA expert, in connection with the NEET paper leak.
- Mandhare allegedly provided leaked NEET questions to students in exchange for payment.
- The NEET exam was cancelled after allegations of a paper leak surfaced.
- Professor P V Kulkarni, a chemistry expert, was also arrested for his involvement in the NEET paper leak.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested a biology lecturer who was part of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) paper-setting committee for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) held on May 3, officials said.
The arrest was made on the basis of questioning of alleged kingpin P V Kulkarni and other accused in the paper leak case, they said.
The biology lecturer Manisha Mandhare was arrested here after being questioned by the agency at its headquarters, they said.
She was allegedly involved in the NEET-UG examination process and was appointed by the NTA as an expert, they said.
NEET Paper Leak Investigation: Key Suspect Apprehended
Officials said Mandhare had complete access to the Botony and Zoology question papers.
Mandhare is alleged to have mobilised prospective NEET examination candidates in April 2026 through Manisha Wagmare of Pune, who was arrested on May 14, and conducted special coaching classes for these students at her Pune residence.
It is alleged that Mandhare dictated leaked questions and responses to select students and took lakhs of rupees as fee.
Most of these questions tallied with the questions that appeared in the examination on May 3.
The NEET exam was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak.
More Arrests in NEET Exam Irregularities
The CBI had arrested Professor P V Kulkarni, a domain expert in chemistry from Latur on Friday. Kulkarni for years served on panels involved in setting the NEET question paper.
Exploiting his privileged access to confidential material, Kulkarni allegedly 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.
"During the last week of April, 2026, he had mobilised students, with the help of another accused namely Manisha Waghmare who was arrested on May 14 by CBI," a spokesperson said in a statement.
NEET Exam Cancellation and Aftermath
Students allegedly paid several lakh rupees to attend the sessions where they wrote the questions down in their notebooks and later 'tallied exactly' with the actual NEET-UG paper conducted on May 3, the spokesperson said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres.
Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the exam was held.
The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action."
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