NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: CBI probes role of public servants, larger conspiracy

New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the possible involvement of public servants in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case. This was informed by the agency to a special court here on Thursday while seeking custodial interrogation of Shubham Khairnar, a resident of Nashik and co-accused in the case.

CBI told the court that it is looking into the "larger conspiracy" behind the alleged leak and whether the accused managed to gain access to the Jaipur-based printing press where the examination paper was published.

In a related development, CBI arrested two more accused, taking the total number of arrests to seven, and conducted searches at 14 locations in the last 24 hours. The two arrested have been identified as Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune.


All the five arrested have been remanded to seven-day custodial interrogation by CBI, the agency said on Thursday. People in the know said that Lokhande (26) was allegedly helping students secure admissions to medical colleges. Manisha Waghmare, a 46-year-old beautician from Pune, was arrested by the agency after investigators linked her to accused middleman Dhananjay Lokhande.

Maharashtra Police sources suggest that Waghmare might have connected aspiring medical students to Lokhande in exchange for payments. Her phone and laptop reportedly contain call and message records with Lokhande. All seven accused will be interrogated by the agency to trace the source of the leak, ascertain the kingpin and the chain of events.

The leaked papers are believed to have circulated across Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Dehradun and Kerala. In the initial stages, the papers were allegedly sold for as much as ₹30 lakh, people quoted above said.

The federal agency, while seeking custodial interrogation of Khairnar, told the special court on Thursday that the leaked paper was distributed via social media using WhatsApp and Telegram. Khairnar has reportedly denied the charges.

The agency said the leaked question paper was scanned and turned into a PDF file and was printed and distributed among students. The agency told the court that there were nearly 500 to 600 questions in the "guess paper" which was strikingly similar to the original question paper. The court was told that the accused assured the candidates, who purchased the leaked paper, that they will get admission in government college.

According to people quoted above, the leaked question paper was first accessed and then circulated through Yash Yadav from Gurugram. He allegedly passed the leaked paper to individuals in Rajasthan. Sources said Yadav knew Vikas Biwal, whose father, Dinesh Bilwal wrote the leaked paper in his own handwriting and later converted into a digital format (PDF). Dinesh, a former local BJP youth wing secretary and his brother Mangilal Biwal, residents of Jamwa Ramgarh, a town in Jaipur, passed on the leaked paper to students in Sikar.

In a statement on Thursday, CBI said "several other suspects are under interrogation and further action is going on. CBI is pursuing all the leads. CBI is committed to a comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation in this matter".