3 weeks ago
CBI chargesheet reveals how NTA experts leaked NEET-UG 2026 paper
Every year in India, millions of students take a big exam called NEET-UG to get into medical school.
This year, someone shared the exam questions before the test, which is very unfair and against the rules.
A police agency called the CBI investigated what happened and filed a big report in court.
The report says three people who helped prepare the exam may have leaked the questions.
These people worked for the National Testing Agency, the organisation that runs the exam.
One person wrote the questions and answers on tiny pieces of paper called chits and hid them when leaving the office.
The other two memorised the questions and wrote them down later in their hotel rooms, or marked important paragraphs in their school textbooks.
The CBI says the leak was not noticed because the agency did not check people entering the office and did not watch its security cameras properly.
The test had to be cancelled, and a new one was held later under stronger security.
In total, 13 people are accused of being part of the leak, and they will get to tell their side in court.
The CBI's 94-page chargesheet says three NTA subject experts were the primary sources of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, using chits, memorisation and marked NCERT textbook paragraphs.
Chemistry expert P.V. Kulkarni allegedly noted all 135 chemistry questions and answer options on small chits concealed on his person during back-translation work from March 31 to April 2, 2026.
Botany expert Manisha Mandhare allegedly marked relevant NCERT textbook paragraphs in her hotel after each day's work, while physics expert Manisha Havaldar allegedly noted questions after returning to her Delhi accommodation.
The CBI says the leak went unnoticed because experts were not frisked entering or leaving the NTA confidential section and there was no dedicated CCTV live-feed monitoring; only 20-25 days of footage was available.
The chargesheet, filed in Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court, names 13 accused for offences including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust under the BNS, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024; the original May 3 exam was cancelled and a re-exam held June 21.
- Who
- Three NTA subject experts — chemistry expert P.V. Kulkarni, botany expert Manisha Mandhare and physics expert Manisha Havaldar — among 13 accused named in the CBI chargesheet
- What
- Allegedly leaked the NEET-UG 2026 question paper by writing all 135 chemistry questions and answer options on concealed chits, memorising questions, and marking relevant paragraphs in NCERT textbooks, passing questions through middlemen to candidates
- Where
- The NTA confidential section in the NSIC building in Okhla, New Delhi; some accused ran coaching classes in Pune, with distribution networks in Rajasthan and Haryana
- When
- Translation and back-translation work ran between March 9 and April 7, 2026; the original exam was held May 3 and cancelled; the CBI registered the case on May 12 and filed the chargesheet on July 28
- Why
- Allegedly for financial gain and to improve the success rates of tuition classes run by some of the accused, aided by security lapses including no frisking of experts and inadequate CCTV monitoring
Key facts
- Exam
- NEET-UG 2026; original May 3 exam cancelled and re-examination held June 21
- Investigating agency
- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI); case registered May 12, 2026
- Chargesheet
- 94 pages filed before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on July 28; 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects cited; documents total 20,000 pages
- Total accused
- 13, including three NTA subject experts, middlemen, coaching-linked individuals and beneficiary candidates; all in judicial custody
- Key accused
- Pralhad Vithalrao Kulkarni (Chemistry), Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (Botany/Zoology), Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (Physics)
- Alleged method
- Chits with all 135 chemistry questions and answer options; memorising questions to write later; marking NCERT textbook paragraphs; special coaching classes and dictation of questions
- Security lapses flagged
- No frisking of experts at the NTA confidential section; no dedicated CCTV live-feed monitoring control room; only 20-25 days of footage available
- Investigation actions
- Searches at 92 locations in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and other states; bank accounts, lockers and a demat account frozen
Quotes
CBI chargesheet
Official CBI statement
“Investigation has revealed that experts were provided with plain sheets inside the confidential section for rough work during translation/back translation. Accused P.V. Kulkarni (A-2) has used these sheets to note down, on small chits, all 135 questions of Chemistry in brief and the answer options and took them out in a concealed manner”
thehansindia.com
theprint.in
thehansindia.com
“"There was no practice of checking/frisking of experts during entry/exit from the confidential section at NTA. For easier questions, he could simply remember them and write them down in a book once he returned to his hotel room at the end of the day."”
theprint.in
Sources
No frisking, lack of CCTV watch enabled NTA experts to carry out NEET question leaks, says CBI chargesheet
Memorising Questions, Using Chits: How Testing Agency Experts Leaked NEET Paper
Exclusive: How NTA subject experts leaked NEET-UG paper—‘questions on chits, marked NCERT paras’
NEET paper leak case: Three subject experts sneaked questions out of NTA office, says CBI
NEET paper leak: 3 NTA subject experts primary sources of leak, says CBI chargesheet
NEETGATE: 3 NTA subject experts leaked the papers
Chits, memory tricks and NCERT marks: How NTA experts allegedly leaked NEET questions
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