New Delhi: A Delhi court on Sunday sent NEET paper leak accused Manisha Gurunath Mandhare to 14 days’ custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Mandhare, an NTA-appointed senior Botany teacher from Pune, is suspected to be one of the masterminds behind the leak of the Biology question paper in the NEET-UG 2026 examination. Chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni is alleged to be the “kingpin” of the paper leak.
During proceedings at the Rouse Avenue Court, the CBI told the bench that Mandhare was an expert in translating Botany and Zoology question papers.
“Manisha was in conspiracy with P.V. Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare. She gave the question paper to another accused, Shubham. Simultaneous investigations are going on across the country. We need to take her to different parts of the country for investigation,” the agency told the court.
The CBI further stated that Mandhare had direct access to the question paper.
The defence, however, argued that her arrest was “illegal”, claiming she was arrested after sundown and brought to Delhi at around 1 a.m.
The court directed the defence counsel to move an appropriate application regarding the allegation. It also allowed Mandhare to meet her lawyer for 15 minutes daily.
According to a CBI statement issued on Saturday, Mandhare was involved in the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and had complete access to the Biology question paper as an expert appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The probe agency said that in April 2026, she allegedly mobilised prospective NEET candidates through Pune-based consultant Manisha Waghmare, who was arrested on May 14, and conducted special coaching classes for students at her Pune residence.
During these sessions, Mandhare allegedly disclosed several Biology questions, asked students to note them down in notebooks and mark them in textbooks. The CBI said a majority of those questions matched the actual NEET-UG 2026 question paper conducted on May 3, which was later cancelled.
In the last 24 hours, the CBI conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized several incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones. Officials said detailed analysis of the seized materials is underway.
The CBI registered the case on May 12 following a complaint by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education regarding the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
After registering the case, the agency formed special teams and conducted searches at multiple locations nationwide. Several suspects were picked up and questioned.
So far, nine accused have been arrested from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Five of them have already been produced before the court and remanded to seven-day police custody for detailed interrogation.
Two other accused arrested on Friday were produced before a Pune court and later shifted to Delhi after transit remand.
The CBI said the investigation has revealed the source of the Chemistry and Biology paper leaks as well as the role of middlemen, who allegedly mobilised students by collecting lakhs of rupees and arranging special coaching classes where questions expected in the NEET-UG 2026 examination were dictated and discussed.
With IANS inputs