New Delhi: The NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak was a well-organised criminal conspiracy spanning multiple states, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has determined.
The confidential examination questions were reportedly leaked by National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts and transmitted through a network of intermediaries to candidates in return for substantial sums of money, the CBI has said in its chargesheet.
The chargesheet was submitted to the Special CBI Court at Rouse Avenue, Delhi, naming 13 accused individuals. Those named include three NTA subject experts, coaching operators, middlemen and candidates.
The three NTA-appointed experts – Botany expert Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (A-1), Chemistry expert Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni (A-2), and Physics expert Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (A-3) – allegedly exploited their official positions to gain unlawful access to the NEET-UG 2026 question papers and shared them with co-conspirators prior to the examination, the document mentions, as reported by ANI.
The CBI has invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, in its investigation.
A systematically organised supply chain facilitated the transfer of leaked papers from the NTA experts to coaching operators and brokers, eventually reaching the candidates, the probe has uncovered.
Private individuals named in the chargesheet include Tejas Shah (A-4), Shivraj Motegaonkar (A-5), Dr Manoj Shirure (A-6), Manisha Sanjay Waghmare (A-7), Dhananjay Lokhande (A-8), Shubham Khairnar (A-9), Yash Yadav (A-10), Mangilal Biwal (A-11), Dinesh Biwal (A-12), and Vikas Biwal (A-13), all of whom are alleged to have played roles in disseminating the leaked questions and facilitating payments.
The forensic examination of seized mobile phones, pen drives, and other digital devices revealed PDF and image files containing leaked NEET questions. The files were reportedly exchanged via Telegram, WhatsApp, and other instant messaging platforms several days before the examination.
Mangilal Biwal (A-11) obtained leaked questions through Telegram from co-accused Yash Yadav (A-10), the CBI has claimed. In return, Biwal provided original Class X and XII certificates and a signed blank cheque as security to an associate of Yash Yadav; these documents were recovered during searches.
Yash Yadav is alleged to have sourced the leaked papers from Nashik-based Shubham Madhukar Khairnar (A-9). Investigators reportedly located chats on Yadav’s mobile phone with a contact saved as “AP Broker,” identified as Khairnar. PDF files containing leaked questions were also found on Yadav’s device.
Khairnar allegedly procured the leaked questions from Dhananjay Lokhande (A-8) in a transaction valued at approximately Rs 25 lakh, as disclosed during his interrogation.
Lokhande received the leaked questions from Manisha Sanjay Waghmare (A-7), who is believed to have arranged physical delivery of the papers through intermediaries, the chargesheet further states.
Searches at Waghmare’s residence uncovered a mobile phone containing a WhatsApp group named “NEET 2026.”
Waghmare was in contact with NTA Chemistry expert Prahlad Kulkarni (A-2), who worked on the Marathi-to-English back translation of the Chemistry paper for NEET – UG 2026, it has been stated. Waghmare is reported to have obtained Biology and Chemistry questions through students she introduced to the experts Manisha Mandhare (A-1) and Kulkarni (A-2).
The CBI has included statements from candidates interviewed during the investigation. According to the chargesheet, one candidate and her father were allegedly offered access to NEET-UG 2026 questions for ₹4 lakh, alongside coaching arrangements and offline revision classes conducted by one of the NTA subject experts. These interactions reportedly occurred in late 2025 and early 2026 as part of the conspiracy.
The agency asserts that forensic analysis of seized electronic devices, chat records, recovered documents, and witness statements collectively establish the existence of the criminal conspiracy, abuse of official positions by public servants, and unlawful circulation of confidential exam materials prior to NEET-UG 2026.
