A day after arresting a retired lecturer from Pune for allegedly leaking the NEET-UG 2026 paper, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested another professor from a reputed college in Pune after allegedly finding crucial evidence.
The professor has been identified as Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior botany professor from , who was arrested in after thorough interrogation. The CBI alleged that she was one of the “masterminds” behind the leak of Biology questions in the NEET-UG 2026 examination and that she had access to the Botany and Zoology papers as an expert appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“She was involved in the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and was appointed by the NTA as an expert. She had complete access to the Botany and Zoology question papers. In April 2026, she had mobilised prospective NEET examination candidates through arrested Manisha Wagmare of Pune and conducted special coaching classes for these students at her Pune residence,” a CBI spokesperson said.
“During these special 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. The majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper of NEET-UG 2026 Examination held on May 3,” the spokesperson said.
The Indian Express had reported that the CBI had asked the Ministry of Education to provide a list of persons involved in the procedure of preparing the question papers on behalf of the NTA. “After getting the list of all the professors and their office staff, the CBI is scanning their phone records and trying to find a link between the six arrested accused and any of them,” a source said.
The NEET-UG 2026 exam was cancelled following an alleged paper leak, with a retest now scheduled for June 21.
The agency said the investigation had so far uncovered the “actual source” behind the leak of both Chemistry and Biology papers, along with the network of middlemen who allegedly mobilised students and collected lakhs of rupees to get them access to the special classes.
Mandhare’s arrest comes a day after the CBI arrested P V Kulkarni from Pune, identifying him as the source of the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper leaks. “Kulkarni was involved in the examination process on behalf of the NTA. He had access to the question papers, and he had organised special coaching classes with the help of Waghmare at his Pune residence during the last week of April 2026, in which students were allegedly mobilised and taught the leaked material,” an official said. Kulkarni was a chemistry lecturer at the Dayanand Junior College in Latur.
Investigators are now probing whether candidates were selected through coaching networks and personal contacts, and whether handwritten notes prepared during these sessions were circulated further.
The developments have intensified scrutiny of private coaching networks in Maharashtra, particularly in Pune and Latur, which are major hubs for medical entrance coaching.
In the last 24 hours, the CBI has also conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized several incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones. “Detailed analysis of the seized items is going on,” the spokesperson added.
So far, nine accused have been arrested from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Nashik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Of these, five have already been remanded to seven days of police custody. Two accused arrested earlier were produced before a Pune court, granted transit remand and shifted to Delhi, where they are being produced before the court.
(With inputs from Vallabh Ozarkar)
