Biology lecturer, part of NTA's paper-setting committee for NEET-UG, arrested

New Delhi: A senior Botany lecturer from Pune was arrested on Saturday in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak with the CBI claiming that the “actual source” of the leakage of Chemistry and Biology papers as well as the middlemen involved in mobilising students have been identified.

Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, the Biology lecturer, was arrested following her questioning at the CBI headquarters here. The questioning of alleged kingpin PV Kulkarni, a Chemistry lecturer, and Manisha Waghmare, who were arrested earlier, had led the CBI to Mandhare’s alleged involvement in the paper leak.

With this, nine people have been arrested in the case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram Nasik, Pune and Ahilyanagar since May 13. The CBI took over the case on May 12 from Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group, which was initially tipped about the paper leak.

The CBI said investigation conducted so far has “brought out the actual source of the leakage” of Chemistry and Biology papers as well as the “middlemen involved in mobilising students who paid lakhs of rupees” to attend the special coaching classes where the questions which would come in the NEET UG-2026 exam were “dictated and discussed”.

Mandhare was “involved” in the NEET UG 2026 examination process as an expert appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducting the NEET exam.

She had “complete access” to the Botany and Zoology question papers. During April, Mandhare had mobilised prospective NEET examination candidates through Manisha Waghmare of Pune and conducted special coaching classes for these students at her Pune residence, a CBI statement claimed.

“During these classes, she explained and disclosed various questions from Botany and Zoology subjects and made the students note down the same in their notebooks and also mark them in their textbooks. Majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper” of the exam held on May 3, it said. The NTA on May 12 cancelled the NEET exam following the paper leak.

The CBI on Friday had arrested Kulkarni claiming that he along with Waghmare had conducted special coaching classes for students at his residence in Pune. He had “dictated questions along with options and correct answers and the questions so dictated were handwritten by students in their notebooks and have exactly tallied with the actual question paper”.

Investigators have earlier said that Waghmare and Dhananjay Lokhanda of Ahilyanagar were taken into custody on May 14 while five persons -- -- Shubham Khairnar from Nashik, Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal (all from Jaipur) and Yash Yadav from Gurugram -- were arrested on May 13. Of this Dinesh Biwal was linked to BJP’s Yuva Morcha local wing.