New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has uncovered what investigators describe as a crucial “beauty parlour link” in the widening NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, with a Pune-based parlour owner allegedly acting as a middlewoman between paper-setters and aspirants across multiple states.
According to investigators, Pune resident Manisha Waghmare, who runs a beauty parlour, allegedly helped mobilise NEET aspirants for special coaching sessions conducted by accused Botany lecturer Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, reported HT. The CBI claims students were brought into the network through Waghmare before being given access to questions that later matched the actual NEET-UG paper held on May 3.
The agency said Mandhare, an NTA-appointed expert who allegedly had access to Botany and Zoology question papers, conducted classes at her Pune residence during April. During these sessions, students were allegedly asked to note down important questions and mark answers in textbooks. Investigators claim many of these questions later appeared in the examination.
The probe has now expanded into what officials describe as a five-state network involving middlemen, coaching links and suspected insiders connected to the examination process. The CBI has already arrested retired chemistry lecturer PV Kulkarni, who is being described as one of the masterminds of the leak. Kulkarni too was allegedly part of the NTA paper-setting process and used a similar modus operandi by dictating questions to selected students during closed-door sessions.
Investigators are also probing the financial trail linked to the operation. Earlier police findings cited by reports indicated that Waghmare allegedly received multiple deposits amounting to around ₹10 lakh during the examination period.
The CBI has widened its scrutiny to the entire NTA panel involved in setting the examination paper after the arrest of two insiders within 24 hours. Officials suspect the leak may have originated from within the paper-setting ecosystem itself.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination was later cancelled following the leak controversy, affecting more than 22 lakh aspirants across the country.
