NEET paper leak: CBI nabs 'another mastermind', a Pune-based teacher of Botany

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested another lecturer from Pune who was involved in the NEET UG 2026 examination process and was appointed by NTA as an expert, the agency said on Saturday.

The arrest of Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior botany teacher from Pune marks the ninth arrest in the case. Her arrest comes barely a day after the arrest of PV Kulkarni, a chemistry lecturer involved in the process of examination on behalf of NTA, and alleged kingpin of the NEET-UG paper leak case.

The agency in its statement on Saturday described Manisha Mandhare as "another mastermind" who was "the source for leak" of NEET-UG 2026 examination biology questions.


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The federal agency said that during April 2026 Mandhare "had mobilised prospective NEET examination candidates through Manisha Waghmare, a 46-year-old beautician from Pune and co-accused in the case, and conducted special coaching classes for these students at her Pune residence".

The agency further said that during "these classes she explained and disclosed various questions from Botany and Zoology subjects and made the students note down the same in their notebooks and also mark in their textbooks. Majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper of NEET-UG examination held on May 3. Manisha Mandhare has reportedly contributed to question paper-setting for NEET on behalf of the NTA for the past five to six years.

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In the last 24 hours, the agency claims to have conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized several "incriminating documents, Laptops, bank statements and mobile phones". The agency said that detailed analysis of the seized items is going on.