How CBI exposed NEET-UG 2026 paper leak plot

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detailed in its chargesheet how the NEET (Undergraduate) 2026 question paper was leaked weeks before the exam. According to the agency, three subject experts hired by the National Testing Agency (NTA) were behind the leak. It began in April 2026 during the confidential translation, back-translation, and proofreading work at the NTA headquarters in Delhi.

The three experts were Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, who handled Botany and Zoology; Pralhad Vithalrao Kulkarni, also known as PV Kulkarni, who worked on Chemistry; and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, who was responsible for Physics. They used their authorised access to take questions from the master sets. Investigators found that security in the confidential section on the first floor of the NTA office was not strict enough.

Experts were not checked when entering or leaving, and plain sheets meant for rough work were reportedly misused. Kulkarni, who did back-translation on 135 Chemistry questions from March 31 to April 2, is accused of writing short versions of the questions and answer options on small pieces of paper, which he hid and took out of the office.

For easier questions, the experts relied on their memory. After going back to their hotel rooms, they wrote down the questions. Mandhare, in particular, marked matching paragraphs in NCERT textbooks, using her knowledge of the material. Havaldar also wrote down Physics questions after each day. CCTV footage from that period was missing because backups were only kept for 20 to 25 days.

The confidential work ended on April 7, but the case was not registered until May 12. After leaving the NTA, the experts reportedly passed the material to a network of private coaching sessions that tried to avoid leaving digital traces.

In late April, Kulkarni and Mandhare held unauthorised “special revision sessions” or coaching classes at their homes in Pune. Small groups of eight to fifteen students, brought by intermediaries, received the exact questions, all four answer choices, and the correct answers. Students were told to copy everything by hand into their notebooks or textbooks.

During searches, investigators found handwritten notes that matched questions from the actual May 3 exam. Havaldar is accused of dictating Physics questions to a Pune-based coaching teacher, Tejas Shah, who wrote them down and shared the material further. Investigators discovered that Havaldar saved Shah’s number as “God.”

The handwritten notes did not stay within these sessions. Intermediaries, including Manisha Sanjay Waghmare, collected the notebooks, took photos of the notes, and made them into PDFs. The questions then passed through a chain of intermediaries across Maharashtra, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

From operators in Pune, the material was sent to Nashik, and from there it was shared on Telegram with contacts in Gurugram and other locations. Forensic checks of seized phones found PDF files, WhatsApp groups named “NEET 2026,” photos of questions, and call records showing how people communicated.

In some cases, payments of several lakhs of rupees were made, and original educational certificates and signed blank cheques were sometimes taken as security. Against 13 people in a special court in Delhi, saying that no government officials or permanent NTA staff were involved.

The three subject experts, along with coaching operators, brokers, and facilitators, have been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust, as well as under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The agency has listed 360 witnesses, 422 documents, and 43 material objects to support its case.

All the accused remain in judicial custody. The May 3 NEET-UG exam, taken by more than 22 lakh candidates, was cancelled after an email alert and leaked “guess papers” revealed a large overlap with the official questions. A retest was ordered. The chargesheet describes the case as a conspiracy that began with recruiting candidates as early as late 2025 and ended with the organised leaking and selling of confidential exam material. Investigators are still following the money trail and searching for remaining digital evidence to determine the full size of the network.