NEET-UG leak 2026: CBI chargesheet claims paper setting done at NTA’s Okhla building; what key evidence did agency find?

NEET UG Leak 2026: CBI Chargesheet Details Paper Setting at NTA Okhla

Theindiapostdaily.com – The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a detailed chargesheet concerning the NEET UG leak 2026, presenting extensive digital evidence and procedural violations. A pivotal piece of evidence emerged from a Pune residential society’s access-control application, where PV Kulkarni—a chemistry specialist at the National Testing Agency and one of the accused—lived during the critical period.

Officials confirmed that all paper-setting activities, including translation and back-translation, took place at the NTA’s Okhla building under supposedly tight security. However, investigators uncovered several procedural lapses during this crucial phase.

Digital Footprints and Student Tracking

The chargesheet, submitted on July 28 before a special CBI court against thirteen accused individuals, included biometric data from the Pune housing society’s application. This data revealed students attending Kulkarni’s private coaching sessions. The application, widely used by gated communities, records visitor movements and daily activities.

By analyzing this information, the CBI established that students and their families visited the society in April, just weeks before the NEET UG leak 2026 examination held on May 3. Kulkarni stayed in Pune throughout this window. The agency bolstered its case by cross-checking call records and mobile location data to confirm student attendance.

Three NTA Experts at the Heart of the Scandal

The chargesheet names three Pune-based NTA subject specialists as main players in the leak. PV Kulkarni was responsible for chemistry, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare handled zoology and botany, and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar managed physics. These experts allegedly bypassed internal NTA protocols to secure confidential questions for significant financial gains.

Investigators followed the distribution chain through beautician Manisha Sanjay Waghmare, who reportedly shared the leaked papers with candidates in Rajasthan and Haryana through middlemen. This network eventually led to the formal complaint lodged with the NTA.

Coaching Sessions and Notebook Trail

Waghmare arranged for students to join coaching classes conducted by Kulkarni and Mandhare in April. She then collected their notebooks containing questions dictated by the experts, with certain sections marked as “important” and “very important.”

The CBI also linked Havaldar to the scheme, noting that at Mandhare’s direction, she handed over sixteen pages containing sixty-eight physics questions to an aspirant’s mother.

Expert Verification Confirms Matches

Question materials recovered from candidates and intermediaries were sent to a Delhi University expert panel for authentication. The committee concluded that significant portions aligned with four NEET UG leak 2026 paper sets—Kailash, Shivalik, Set 2, and Set 3—though the extent of matching differed.

Officials observed that paper sets accessible to the accused experts showed the highest correlation, reaching nearly 85 percent, while sets outside their reach displayed minimal similarity.

Question Extraction Techniques

The probe found that Kulkarni, Mandhare, and Havaldar took advantage of procedural gaps by reconstructing question materials after returning to their hotel rooms. Kulkarni reportedly used rough sheets with small chits containing brief questions and optional answers, memorizing easier items for later reconstruction.

The agency alleged that Kulkarni handled back-translation for three NEET UG leak 2026 paper sets, with recovered materials showing the strongest chemistry-related matches to those particular sets. Havaldar and Waghmare mainly relied on memory to recreate questions, documenting and marking them in subject books upon returning to their hotel.

Additional Accused and Timeline

Officials stated that the accused participated in the leak process on various dates between March and April, allowing sufficient time to return to Pune before the May 3 examination while continuing prohibited coaching activities under NTA rules.

Coaching center owner Shivraj Raghunath Mutgaonkar has also been charged. According to investigators, Mutgaonkar received question papers from Kulkarni through an intermediary and distributed them to his students for payment.

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