The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Pune-based Chemistry lecturer for his alleged role as the “kingpin” behind the question paper leak that led to the cancellation of the 2026 NEET-UG entrance examination.
The accused, identified as PV Kulkarni, was associated with the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the now-cancelled exam. He had access to the question papers for the entrance test conducted on May 3.
More specifically, he was part of the panel that set the NEET question paper for years, officials said. Kulkarni, a retired college professor, was taken in for questioning by the CBI on May 14.
How the leak happened
With help from another accused in the case, Kulkarni leaked the questions and the correct answers to a group of NEET-UG aspirants at a secret coaching session arranged at his residence in Pune during the last week of April.
Kulkarni’s alleged accomplice, Manisha Waghmare, was arrested on Thursday.
The CBI stated that the Chemistry professor “dictated the questions along with options and the correct answers during these special coaching classes.” The questions so dictated were handwritten by students in their notebooks and have exactly tallied with the actual question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
The students paid several lakhs of rupees to attend the session.
Seven arrests so far
Seven people have been arrested by the CBI so far as part of the probe, which spans several states. Two of them are Mangi Lal and Dinesh Biwal – relatives and residents of Rajasthan’s Jaipur district.
The duo were in the custody of Rajasthan Police before being arrested by the CBI. They have allegedly emerged as a crucial link in the paper leak network, which spread to other parts of the country via Rajasthan’s Sikar.
Sources within the police told India Today that the family is believed to have leaked and sold medical entrance exam papers in previous years as well.
What happened to NEET-UG 2026
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted on May 3 for students seeking admission to medical courses. Around 22 lakh aspirants appeared for the exam.
More than a week later, on May 12, the NTA cancelled the examination amid a rapidly escalating controversy over the alleged leak of the question paper and action initiated by the police in Rajasthan.
Investigations into alleged malpractices were first initiated by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG). The police probe suggested that a set of handwritten questions, which were purportedly part of a “guess paper,” partially matched the actual exam paper.
The scope of the leak
All 90 questions in Biology and all 45 questions in Chemistry asked in the NEET exam were found in the “guess paper”, which contained 281 questions. The NEET exam has a total of 180 questions, each carrying four marks.
The CBI investigation has “so far brought out the actual source of the leakage of Chemistry paper” with Kulkarni’s arrest. More arrests are expected as the probe continues across multiple states.
