Pune, Aug 8 ( UNI) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that three subject experts associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA), P. V. Kulkarni (Chemistry), Manisha Hawaldar (Physics), and Manisha Mandhare (Botany and Zoology) , played a key role in the alleged leak of questions from the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper.
The CBI has filed a 94-page chargesheet against 13 accused before a special court in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. Investigators have relied heavily on records from the access-control application of the housing society where Pune-based accused Kulkarni lived, besides biometric data, mobile call-detail records and location analysis.
The chargesheet details how the three experts allegedly exploited security lapses in the NTA’s confidential section. According to the CBI, there was no dedicated direct-recording control unit for the confidential section, leaving the movements of the accused experts largely unmonitored. There was also reportedly no system for frisking personnel while entering or leaving the premises.
The agency has claimed that these lapses created an opportunity for the question paper to be accessed and leaked.
Mandhare, who was responsible for translating the Botany paper from English into Marathi and retranslating the Zoology paper, allegedly marked relevant passages from NCERT textbooks after returning to her hotel. The CBI has claimed that her experience enabled her to easily link the examination questions with the textbook content.
Hawaldar, who was assigned the Physics translation work, allegedly made brief notes of the questions after returning to her residence in Delhi at the end of each day, according to the chargesheet.
The CBI has further alleged that the leaked question paper was passed on by Pune-based beautician Manisha Waghmare through intermediaries to Rajasthan and Haryana. The paper was allegedly sold for substantial sums through a chain of middlemen before eventually reaching a student. The student’s complaint to the NTA subsequently helped bring the alleged paper leak to light.
A committee of experts from Delhi University examined the seized material and found that it matched questions from different sets of the NEET-UG 2026 examination, the CBI has claimed.
The agency has also named Latur-based coaching centre operator Shivraj Motegaonkar as an accused. According to the chargesheet, the same set of individuals were involved at different stages of finalising the question paper, creating the possibility that the complete final paper could have become accessible to a single individual.
The CBI’s findings have also highlighted serious security deficiencies in the handling of confidential examination material and raised questions over the safeguards adopted by the NTA during the preparation and translation of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper.
