CBI says India NEET leak was months in the making

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak was the result of a carefully planned conspiracy that began months before the examination, with coaching operators allegedly cultivating National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts to obtain confidential question papers in exchange for money.

In a chargesheet filed before the Special CBI Court at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Courts, the agency claimed the leak was not a last-minute breach but a coordinated operation involving NTA-appointed experts, private coaching operators, intermediaries and candidates.

According to the CBI, investigators found that the accused established contact with the subject experts well before the examination process, maintaining regular communication, arranging meetings and facilitating payments to gain access to confidential examination material.

The agency has named three NTA-appointed subject experts — Botany expert Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, Chemistry expert Prahalad Vithalrao Kulkarni and Physics expert Manisha Sanjay Havaldar — as accused, alleging they misused their official roles in preparing the examination to leak confidential question papers before the test.

The CBI alleged that the leaked papers did not move directly from the experts to candidates but passed through several intermediaries before reaching students willing to pay substantial sums.

Among those named in the chargesheet are Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, Chief Operating Officer of Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy in Pune, Renukai Career Centre managing partner Shivraj Motegaonkar and Siddhivinayak Hospital owner Dr Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure, who are accused of coordinating the operation outside the NTA.

Investigators also identified Manisha Sanjay Waghmare, Dhananjay Lokhande, Shubham Madhukar Khairnar and Yash Yadav as key links in the alleged distribution chain that moved the leaked examination papers through multiple layers before they reached candidates.

The agency said one accused allegedly handed over original educational certificates and a signed blank cheque as security after receiving the leaked questions, which investigators described as evidence of a commercial arrangement designed to ensure payment.

The CBI said its case is supported by digital evidence recovered during searches, including WhatsApp chats, Telegram communications, PDF files, photographs of question papers and forensic examination of seized electronic devices.

According to the agency, these electronic records helped investigators reconstruct how the confidential examination material allegedly moved through the network.

The CBI maintains that the evidence points to a coordinated conspiracy involving public servants, private coaching operators, brokers and candidates rather than an isolated lapse in examination security.

The chargesheet invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating and destruction of evidence, along with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

According to the CBI, the three subject experts have been accused of removing confidential NTA examination material from official custody, leaking questions for monetary gain and, in some cases, destroying original question notes after becoming aware of the alleged offence.

The agency said the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act provides for imprisonment ranging from seven to 10 years and a minimum fine of Rs 10 crore for organised examination-related offences, while criminal breach of trust by a public servant under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment if proved.

All 13 accused named in the chargesheet are currently in judicial custody, according to the CBI.

- with inputs from ANI