The CBI on Friday arrested another teacher who was involved in and had complete access to the physics question paper set for the exams, officials said.
This comes days after the agency arrested two teachers, appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), in connection with the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.
“The accused, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, is presently employed at Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala in . She had been appointed by the NTA as an expert involved in the examination process. She had complete access to the physics question papers for NEET‑UG 2026 and, during April 2026, she shared a number of physics questions with , who was arrested earlier on May 16,” a CBI spokesperson said.
According to the CBI, its probe has revealed that the physics questions shared by Havaldar matched those in the NEET‑UG 2026 question paper.
Havaldar (58) is the principal of Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala. She holds an MSc in physics. Havaldar joined the school as a physics teacher in 1992, informed Satish Gavali, secretary of NGO Vidya Prasarini Sabha that runs the school. She has served as principal since 2023 and was set to retire in just over a month’s time on June 30, 2026.
“There has never been any complaint against her by students, teachers, or any department. We know her only as a good teacher,” Gavali said.
“The organisation (Vidya Prasarini Sabha) has no association with this (paper leak) incident. It is a 103 year-old organisation and provides education. We completely condemn the actions of the teacher. The (paper-setting) work is completely confidential and we have never received any letters from the government that she should be given leave for this work. We have suspended her and have constituted an inquiry committee to take action on her.”
Arrested last week, Mandhare, a biology subject expert from Pune’s Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, is learnt to have translated questions from both botany and zoology sections, giving her access to a wider portion of the paper than previously known.
Another arrested expert, retired chemistry lecturer , was reportedly involved in translating the paper into Marathi.
The CBI has also alleged that Mandhare conspired with the other co-accused — beauty salon owner Manisha Waghmare and Kulkarni.
“Searches carried out at various locations across the country have led to seizure of several incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones. Detailed forensic and digital analysis of the seized items are underway,” the CBI said.
So far, a total of 11 accused have been arrested in connection with the probe from several cities, including , Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar, the CBI said.
