Another big arrest in NEET case: NTA’s expert teacher Manisha Mandhare had leaked Biology paper.

New Delhi, 16 May. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got another major success in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG 2026) paper leak case, when the investigating agency arrested Pune’s senior Botany teacher Manisha Gurunath Mandhare from Delhi.

Mandhare was appointed by NTA as an expert in the examination process.

Manisha is being said to be the alleged mastermind of the NEET-UG 2026 Biology paper leak. Manisha Mandhare is a lecturer in Botany at Modern College of Arts Science and Commerce, Shivajinagar, Pune. According to college sources, she had been contributing to the process of preparing NEET question papers for NTA for the last five to six years. According to CBI, Manisha was appointed by NTA as an expert in the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and had full access to the question papers of Botany and Zoology.

Another professor from Pune, PV Kulkarni, is also in the custody of CBI.

It is noteworthy that the agency had arrested Professor PV Kulkarni from Pune on Friday, who is being described as the alleged ‘mastermind’ of this entire racket. PV Kulkarni is a professor of chemistry at Dayanand Medical College, Latur, Maharashtra and was also part of the team that prepared the NEET-UG paper this year.

Mandhare conducted a special coaching class in association with Manisha Waghmare at her home in Pune.

Investigation has revealed that during April 2026, Manisha Mandhare, through Manisha Waghmare of Pune (who has been arrested on May 14), gathered some NEET aspirants at her home in Pune and conducted a special coaching class. In this class, he explained many questions of Botany and Zoology to the students, got them written in notebooks and marked in the books. CBI claims that most of these questions matched the actual question paper of NEET-UG held on May 3, 2026.

CBI has also raided six locations across the country in the last 24 hours. During this period, many important documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones have been recovered. According to the Central Investigation Agency, detailed investigation of the material seized during the raid is going on. It is noteworthy that NTA had canceled NEET-UG held across the country last May after allegations of paper leak.

9 arrests so far in NEET-UG paper leak case

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 12, 2026, based on the complaint of the Higher Education Department of the Education Ministry in the paper leak case. After this, the Central Investigation Agency formed special teams and raided different places across the country and interrogated many suspects. Till now, a total of nine accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Of these, five accused have been produced in the court and sent on police remand for seven days.

‘Mastermind’ of NEET paper leak arrested: Professor PV Kulkarni was part of the team that prepared the paper this year.

Pro. Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare sent to CBI custody for 10 days

Meanwhile, the two accused arrested on Friday – chemistry professors PV Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare – were brought to Delhi on transit remand after being produced in a Pune court, where they were produced in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Saturday. The court has sent both the accused to CBI custody for 10 days. CBI says that till now the investigation has identified the main accused behind the Chemistry and Biology paper leak as well as the middlemen who took lakhs of rupees to send the students to these special classes.