A Botany teacher from Pune, who was an NTA subject expert, has been arrested for leaking the NEET-UG Biology question paper, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Saturday, taking the total number of arrests to nine. The Botany teacher, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, was arrested in Delhi after the CBI questioned her. Mandhare worked for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) process following her appointment by the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an expert, the CBI said.
In April, Mandhare got in touch with NEET candidates through Manisha Wagmare, another accused from Pune who was arrested earlier, and gave coaching classes to select students at her house.
She allegedly disclosed important questions from Botany and Zoology and made the students note down the same in their notebooks and also mark in their textbooks, the CBI said. Most of the questions tallied with the actual paper of NEET-UG held on May 3, the probe agency said.
In the last 24 hours, the CBI conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones and a detailed analysis of the seized items is going on.
The nine accused arrested so far in the paper leak case are from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune and Ahliyanagar.
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The CBI said its investigation has found the actual source of the leakage of Chemistry and Biology papers as well as the middlemen involved in getting in touch with students who paid lakhs of rupees to attend the special coaching classes, where the questions in the NEET UG question paper were dictated and discussed.
The CBI on Friday arrested PV Kulkarni, a Chemistry lecturer associated with the examination process on behalf of the NTA.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted 10 days’ custody of accused Manisha Waghmare and PV Kulkarni to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further interrogation in the case.
The CBI told the court that both accused were part of a larger conspiracy involving the alleged obtaining and distribution of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper.
The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21.
