NEET-UG leak: CBI traces 2nd kingpin, a biology lecturer who was part of NTA panel

THe exchange Bureau of investigating (CBI) has stay a indorse alleged direct in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2026 question paper leak case — a woman biology lecturer who was part of the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) paper-setting committee — a day after arresting retired chemistry lecturer P V Kulkarni, whom investigators described as the kingpin of the racket, senior officials said.The woman lecturer, identified as Manisha Mandhare, was interrogated by the agency, following which she was arrested on Saturday.Mandhare, according to officials, also used the same modus operandi as Kulkarni — dictating the leaked questions, complete with answer options and correct responses, to a class of students who paid several lakhs of rupees each to attend.The CBI probe has revealed that “two sets of question papers — one handwritten and one typed — had been leaked from the NTA” and that Kulkarni and Mandhare were behind it.Officials said that the “entire committee that set the paper and other senior officers of NTA are under the scanner” and that more arrests may take place in the coming days.“This is the first time in paper leak probes we have found the source of leak at NTA. Once the paper was leaked and its PDFs were out on messaging groups, there could have been hundreds of beneficiaries. We will trace all of them but first we are working on the source of leak and their associates,” said an officer who asked not to be named.According to investigators, Kulkarni mobilised students during the last week of April with the help of co-accused Manisha Waghmare, who runs a beauty parlour and collected money. She was arrested earlier this week.At his Pune residence, Kulkarni allegedly dictated questions, multiple-choice options, and correct answers to attending students, who made handwritten notes in their notebooks.The CBI has also mapped the chain through which the paper moved after Kulkarni’s classes. Nashik-based Shubham Khairnar allegedly told Gurugram-based Yash Yadav in April that a man named Mangilal — identified in official records and court documents as both Mangilal Biwal and Mangilal Khatik — was willing to pay ₹10–12 lakh for leaked papers for his younger son. On April 29, Khairnar allegedly told Yadav he could provide physics, chemistry, and biology questions — approximately 500–600 in total — that could “ensure admission in reputed medical colleges”, and asked Yadav to obtain Class 10 and 12 documents, a NEET roll number, and a cheque from Mangilal as a security deposit.That same day, Yadav allegedly received PDF files of the leaked papers through Telegram and forwarded them to Mangilal. Their deal was allegedly contingent on around 150 questions matching the actual paper, for a payment of ₹10 lakh. Mangilal allegedly provided printed copies to three family members appearing in the test, to friends of his son Vikas, and to a teacher, Satyanarayan. He also allegedly supplied papers with answer sheets in exchange for money. The CBI recovered incriminating evidence from Mangilal’s mobile phone.Eight persons have now been arrested across five states in four days: Kulkarni and Waghmare from Pune; Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar; Khairnar from Nashik; Mangilal Biwal, also identified as Mangilal Khatik, Vikas Biwal, and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur; and Yadav from Gurugram.