NEET UG 2026 paper leak: CBI arrests Pune Botany teacher as co-mastermind
Synopsis
A senior NTA-appointed Botany teacher from Pune has been arrested as a suspected co-mastermind of the NEET-UG 2026 Biology paper leak — the second such teacher nabbed in days. She allegedly ran coaching sessions at her home where exam questions were dictated to students who paid lakhs. Nine arrests across six cities and counting.
Key Takeaways
CBI arrested Manisha Gurunath Mandhare , an NTA -appointed Botany teacher from Pune , on 16 May 2026 as a suspected co-mastermind of the NEET-UG 2026 Biology paper leak.
She is the second Pune teacher arrested — after Chemistry professor P.V.
Kulkarni — and had authorised access to the Biology question paper as an NTA expert.
In April 2026 , she allegedly conducted coaching classes at her residence where she dictated Biology questions; a majority matched the actual exam paper of 3 May 2026 .
Students were charged lakhs of rupees by middlemen to attend these sessions, according to the CBI.
A total of nine accused have been arrested across Delhi , Jaipur , Gurugram , Nasik , Pune , and Ahliyanagar ; CBI searched six locations in the last 24 hours.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on 3 May 2026 , was cancelled following the leak; the CBI case was registered on 12 May 2026 .
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday, 16 May 2026 arrested Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior Botany teacher from Pune appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), in connection with the leak of the Biology question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 examination. She is suspected to be a co-mastermind of the leak, according to the CBI.
Who Is Manisha Mandhare
Mandhare is the second Pune-based teacher arrested in the case, following the earlier detention of Chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni. As an NTA-appointed expert, she had complete, authorised access to the Biology question paper — a position investigators say she exploited. The CBI registered the case on 12 May 2026 on a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
How the Leak Allegedly Worked
According to the CBI, in April 2026, Mandhare mobilised prospective NEET candidates through Pune consultant Manisha Wagmare — herself arrested on 14 May 2026. Mandhare then conducted special coaching classes at her Pune residence, where she reportedly dictated and discussed specific Biology questions, instructing students to note them down in notebooks and mark them in textbooks.
The probe agency stated that a majority of those questions matched the actual NEET-UG 2026 paper administered on 3 May 2026 — the examination that was subsequently cancelled. Middlemen allegedly charged students lakhs of rupees to attend these sessions.
Scale of the CBI Operation
In the 24 hours preceding Mandhare's arrest, the CBI conducted searches at six locations across the country, seizing incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements, and mobile phones. Detailed forensic analysis of the seized material is ongoing, officials said.
As of 16 May, nine accused have been arrested across Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, and Ahliyanagar. Five of them have been produced before a court and placed in seven-day police custody remand for detailed interrogation. Two others arrested on Friday were produced before a court in Pune and subsequently shifted to Delhi on transit remand.
What the Investigation Has Established So Far
The CBI said its special teams have already traced the actual source of the leakage of both the Chemistry and Biology papers, as well as the network of middlemen who recruited students. This comes amid intense scrutiny of the NTA's examination security protocols, following last year's NEET controversy that triggered nationwide protests and a Supreme Court review of the testing body's processes.
With investigation continuing and forensic analysis of seized devices underway, further arrests are expected as the CBI maps the full chain of the alleged conspiracy.
Point of View
Not a one-off breach. Insiders with privileged paper access were allegedly running paid coaching rackets from their own homes — a scenario that points to either catastrophically weak vetting by the NTA or active collusion within its expert-appointment process. The NEET crisis of 2025 prompted promises of systemic reform; the 2026 repeat suggests those reforms did not reach the most critical vulnerability: the humans who handle the papers. Until the NTA overhauls its expert-access protocols with independent audit trails, every high-stakes national exam it administers carries this risk.
NationPress
24 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the CBI arrested in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case?
As of 16 May 2026, nine people have been arrested across Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, and Ahliyanagar. The latest arrest is Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a Pune-based NTA-appointed Botany teacher suspected of being a co-mastermind behind the Biology paper leak.
How did the NEET-UG 2026 Biology paper allegedly get leaked?
According to the CBI, Manisha Mandhare used her authorised access to the Biology question paper to conduct coaching classes at her Pune residence in April 2026, where she dictated exam questions to students recruited through a consultant. A majority of those questions matched the actual paper administered on 3 May 2026.
When was the NEET-UG 2026 exam cancelled and why?
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on 3 May 2026, was cancelled after evidence emerged of a question paper leak involving both Chemistry and Biology papers. The CBI formally registered the case on 12 May 2026 on a complaint from the Ministry of Education.
How much did students pay to access the leaked questions?
According to the CBI, middlemen charged students lakhs of rupees to attend the special coaching sessions where exam questions were dictated and discussed ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 exam.
What is the NTA's role in this case?
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had appointed both arrested teachers — Mandhare and Chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni — as subject experts, granting them access to the question papers. The CBI is investigating whether the NTA's expert-appointment and paper-access protocols were compromised.
