NEET Paper Leak Case: CBI Arrests Latur-Based Doctor, Pune Physics Teacher

New Delhi, May 27: The CBI has arrested a doctor from Maharashtra’s Latur and a physics teacher from a Pune-based coaching institute in connection with the NEET UG paper leak case, officials said on Wednesday.

The agency arrested Manoj Shirure for allegedly playing a key role in helping three students, including the son of Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC) operator Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, obtain chemistry questions from NEET paper setter P V Kulkarni.

The CBI had earlier arrested Motegaonkar in the case.

The agency also arrested Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, a physics faculty member at Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy (APMA) in Pune. According to officials, Shah allegedly received leaked NEET UG physics questions from arrested accused Manisha Havaldar.

With the latest arrests, the total number of accused held in the case has risen to 13.

“The investigation to unearth the chain as well as the conspiracy in this case is ongoing. The CBI has so far conducted searches at 49 locations and seized several incriminating documents, laptops, and mobile phones,” a CBI spokesperson said.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) had cancelled the NEET UG examination held on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.

The CBI registered the case on May 12 on the basis of a complaint filed by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education.

The probe agency formed special teams to investigate the case, conducted searches across several states and made multiple arrests.

“So far, 13 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar,” the spokesperson said.

According to the agency, investigations have revealed the source of the leaked question papers and identified middlemen who allegedly mobilised students after taking lakhs of rupees for special coaching sessions where probable NEET UG 2026 questions were shared.

NEET UG was conducted on May 3 in 551 cities across India and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the examination conducted by the NTA.

The NTA said it received information regarding alleged malpractices on the evening of May 7 and shared the inputs with central agencies the following morning for verification and necessary action. (Agencies)