By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested the director of a Maharashtra-based coaching centre in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, taking the total number of arrests in the probe to 10.
The accused, identified as Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, allegedly operated coaching classes in Maharashtra’s Latur district and is suspected to have played a key role in the alleged paper leak network.
According to CBI sources, investigators recovered a leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper from Motegaonkar’s mobile phone during searches conducted on Sunday, following which he was taken into custody and later formally arrested.
The agency alleged that Motegaonkar was an active member of an organised network involved in leaking and circulating the NEET-UG 2026 question paper ahead of the examination conducted on May 3.
Officials claimed he had conspired with other accused persons to obtain the question paper and answer keys in advance and circulate them to multiple candidates.
The arrest comes amid an intensifying nationwide investigation into the alleged leak, which triggered widespread outrage and eventually led to the cancellation of the medical entrance examination.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Sunday sent another accused, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, to 14-day CBI custody.
Mandhare, an NTA-appointed senior Botany teacher from Pune, is suspected to be among the key accused in the alleged leak of the Biology section of the paper. Chemistry professor P V Kulkarni is being treated by investigators as the alleged “kingpin” of the network.
During proceedings at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, the CBI alleged that Mandhare had access to the Biology paper as she was involved in translating Botany and Zoology question papers.
The agency told the court that Mandhare was allegedly part of a conspiracy involving Kulkarni and another accused, Manisha Waghmare, and had passed the question paper to another accused identified as Shubham.
The CBI further alleged that Mandhare conducted special coaching sessions for NEET aspirants at her residence in Pune and disclosed several Biology questions that later matched the actual examination paper.
Earlier, nine accused persons were arrested in the case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Several of them have already been remanded to police custody for further interrogation.