Archive · 7 Aug 2026
CBI Accuses 13, Including 3 NTA Experts, in NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Racket
NEET-UG is a very important test that students in India take to become doctors.
Some people wanted to cheat on this test.
The police agency called the CBI found out that the exam paper may have been given to some people before test day.
They say the cheating plan was made many months ahead of time, not at the last minute.
Some teachers who helped make the test are accused of giving away the secret paper for money.
Other people are accused of passing the paper along to students who paid large amounts of money.
The CBI filed a big report called a chargesheet in a court in Delhi, naming 13 people.
They found messages, PDF files, and pictures on phones that show how the paper moved from person to person.
They even used an app that records who visits someone's home to show that students came to secret classes.
Students were asked to pay huge sums, like ₹4 lakh, for the paper and special classes.
Now a court will decide whether these people did something wrong.
CBI's chargesheet names 13 accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, calling it a meticulously planned multi-state criminal conspiracy rather than a last-minute breach.
Three NTA-appointed subject experts—Botany expert Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, Chemistry expert Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni, and Physics expert Manisha Sanjay Havaldar—are accused of leaking confidential question papers for illegal monetary gains.
The chargesheet was filed before the Special CBI Court at Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi, invoking the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
Digital evidence includes PDFs of leaked papers and Telegram chats on accused Yash Yadav's phone, a 'NEET 2026' WhatsApp group, and an alleged ₹25 lakh deal between Shubham Khairnar and Dhananjay Lokhande.
One candidate and her father were allegedly offered the question paper for ₹4 lakh, including coaching support and offline revision classes from an NTA expert, with interactions traced to late 2025 and early 2026.
- Who
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed a chargesheet naming 13 accused, including three NTA-appointed subject experts, coaching operators, brokers, intermediaries and candidates.
- What
- An alleged preplanned, multi-state criminal conspiracy to leak and sell NEET-UG 2026 confidential question papers for illegal monetary gains.
- When
- The chargesheet was filed on July 28, 2026 and reported on August 7, 2026; alleged interactions with candidates were traced to late 2025 and early 2026, and coaching was linked to April 2026 ahead of the May 3 examination.
- Where
- The chargesheet was filed before the Special CBI Court at Rouse Avenue Courts in Delhi; the conspiracy was allegedly multi-state, with three accused experts based in Pune and papers circulated as far as Rajasthan and Haryana.
- Why
- To obtain confidential exam papers for candidates willing to pay large sums, with payments secured through deals such as a ₹25 lakh transaction and a ₹4 lakh offer to one candidate.
- Investigative agency
- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- Exam affected
- NEET-UG 2026 (held May 3, 2026)
- Accused named
- 13
- Alleged NTA experts
- Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (Botany), Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni (Chemistry), Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (Physics)
- Court
- Special CBI Court, Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi (chargesheet filed July 28, 2026)
- Laws invoked
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Prevention of Corruption Act, Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024
- Key evidence
- WhatsApp chats and 'NEET 2026' group, Telegram conversations (incl. 'AP Broker'), PDFs, photographs, forensic analysis of seized devices, and a Pune society's visitor access-control app
- Financial trail
- ₹25 lakh deal (Khairnar–Lokhande); ₹4 lakh offer to one candidate
Sources
NEET Paper Leak: Charge Sheet Exposes NTA App Conspiracy
NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak: CBI Charges 13, Alleges NTA Experts Ran Multi-State Question Paper Racket
NEET-UG leak preplanned, NTA experts involved: CBI
