CBI arrests Latur's coaching centre owner in NEET paper leak case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently arrested the director and owner of a Coaching Institute in connection with the nationwide NEET UG 2026 examination paper leak case.

The accused was reportedly questioned for nearly 11 hours on Friday as part of the agency’s ongoing probe into the alleged examination scam. Following the interrogation, a CBI team conducted searches at his coaching institute in Latur and seized important documents, computers, and mobile phones believed to be linked to the case.

Investigators are also examining possible financial transactions and links connected to the paper leak network. The accused was later taken to the CBI office in Pune, where he was formally arrested after further questioning. He is expected to be produced before a special court for further legal proceedings.

The accused runs the institute, which provides coaching for NEET-UG aspirants. The concerned Coaching Institute has nine branches, with its main branch located in Latur. He is also reportedly close to the chemistry lecturer associated with the National Testing Agency (NTA), who was earlier arrested by the agency for his alleged involvement in the paper leak.

As per NDTV media report, the accused is widely known as “M Sir” in Maharashtra’s coaching circles and is a prominent name in the state’s NEET and JEE coaching industry. A chemistry teacher from Latur, he built Classes into one of Maharashtra’s largest coaching brands.

The arrest marks the 10th in the case so far. The CBI has arrested ten accused from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur, and Ahilyanagar in connection with the NEET paper leak case.

In the last 24 hours, CBI has also conducted searches at five locations at various places and seized several incriminating documents, Laptops, and mobile phones.

The investigation conducted so far has brought out the actual source of the leakage of Chemistry and Biology papers, which were circulated before the exam. Earlier, the examination conducted on the 3rd of this month was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak.

NEET cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, the NTA on May 12, 2026, declared the cancellation of the examination held on May 3 and subsequently announced the re-examination on June 21, 2026.

The following decision triggered anxiety and anger among lakhs of medical aspirants across the country, many of whom said they were feeling shocked, stressed and uncertain about their future. While some aspirants supported the decision to cancel the examination in the interest of fairness, others said that they are being forced to suffer because of the actions of a few people.

The NTA had further informed that the Government of India decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations after it declared to re-conduct the NEET UG 2026 examination soon. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.

The investigation found that the leaked papers were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the NEET UG 2026 examination held on May 3. According to reports, the matter came to light after a Sikar-based MBBS student studying at a medical college in Kerala allegedly shared a PDF of a “guess paper” with his father on May 2. The father, who runs a PG accommodation facility in Sikar, reportedly circulated the document further to a chemistry and a biology teacher who identified the similarities in questions.

As the investigation widened, Rajasthan SOG and later the CBI uncovered what officials described as a multi-state network involving students, coaching-linked persons and middlemen. The alleged leak reportedly spread from Kerala and Rajasthan to Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and other states.

Seeking action, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors' Network (IMA-JDN) and United Doctors' Front (UDF) filed separate petitions before the Supreme Court demanding the replacement of NTA and strict action against the repeated paper leak incidents.

The issue also led to massive protests and condemnation by the medical fraternity, who blamed the NTA and the government for failing to prevent another paper leak controversy in 2026. They have criticised the authorities for playing with the future of over 22 lakh aspirants who appeared for the exam and are again forced to re-appear.

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