CBI arrests Pune professor alleged to be kingpin in NEET 2026 paper leak
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Pune-based professor alleged to be the kingpin of the NEET UG 2026 paper leak racket, marking a major breakthrough in the high-profile investigation into the compromised medical entrance examination.
According to officials, the accused, Professor, a chemistry expert from Latur, had allegedly been associated with the panel responsible for setting NEET question papers for several years. Investigators claim he used his access to confidential examination material to conduct special coaching sessions at his residence, where students were allegedly dictated questions, answer options and correct responses that later “exactly matched” the actual NEET-UG 2026 question paper held on May 3.
According to PTI report, the CBI has arrested a professor from Pune who is alleged to be the kingpin of the NEET paper leak case, officials said Friday.
Professor Kulkarni, a native of Latur and domain expert of Chemistry, was part of the panel that set the NEET question paper for years, they informed PTI.
He was arrested at his residence in Pune, they said.
Having access to the question papers, he conducted special coaching classes at his residence, they said.
“During the last week of April, 2026, he had mobilised students, with the help of another accused, namely Manisha Waghmare, who was arrested on May 14 by CBI,” an official in the know of the development said.
The official said he allegedly dictated the questions along with options and the correct answers during these special coaching classes.
The dictated questions were handwritten by students in their notebooks and “exactly matched” the actual question paper of NEET-UG 2026 Examination on May 3, the official said.
Medical Dialogues recently reported that a senior official from the NTA informed that around 22.05 lakh candidates appeared for the examination out of the 22.79 lakh who had registered, which is a large number and to conduct the examination online for all candidates successfully, it would take nearly 20 days continuously. Therefore the official said that implementing the hybrid mode is not possible this year.
Now, Dharmendra Pradhan has officially announced that the National Eligibility Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) will shift to a computer-based examination model from next year.
However, his statement has raised serious practical concerns among students and parents. Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Brijesh Sutaria Medical Education activist said, "If the Government of India could not build the infrastructure over the last 10 years to accommodate nearly 25 lakh aspirants in a single shift online examination, then a very important question arises how will such a massive nationwide infrastructure realistically be created within just one year?"
"Just yesterday, senior officials themselves stated that India currently lacks the infrastructure to conduct a single day computer based exam for nearly 25 lakh aspirants and highlighted issues related to multiple shifts, normalization, internet connectivity, electricity, technical manpower, and accessibility for rural students. Today’s statement about a full online transition therefore appears contradictory unless the Government clearly explains its implementation roadmap," he added.
He said that if the Government is planning NEET UG in CBT mode, it should remain a single national examination and not a multi slot exam spread across several days. "The moment multiple shifts are introduced, normalization comes into play. In my opinion, normalization is unfair in a highly competitive merit based examination like NEET and should not determine the future of medical aspirants. Every student must write the same paper, at the same time, under the same conditions. NEET was introduced with the principle of One Nation, One Exam. That spirit and fairness must remain protected while implementing any future reforms," he said.
