NEET-UG leak probe widens, scores picked up across Maharashtra, Rajasthan

The NEET-UG paper leak, which has led to the exam’s cancellation and sparked nationwide outrage, originated from within the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told a Delhi court. The central agency, which has made seven arrests in the case so far, explained the trail behind the alleged leak to the court on Thursday.The CBI has said that Shubham Khairnar, an Ayurveda student and the first to be arrested in the case from Maharashtra, got the paper from Dhananjay Lokhanda. Lokhanda, who knew Khairnar, is alleged to have got the paper from Pune-based Manisha Waghmare. Waghmare, it is alleged, got it from a “source in NTA”. the CBI has said. Both Lokhanda and Waghmare have been arrested and are now in the CBI’s custody.Gurgaon’s Yash Yadav enters the picture next. According to the CBI’s submissions, Khairnar allegedly “facilitated accused Yash Yadav for distribution of leaked NEET (UG) 2026 question paper and accordingly on 29.04.2026, accused Yash Yadav got the PDF files of the NEET question papers through Telegram”. The agency has recovered the PDF files containing papers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The CBI also told the court that it wanted to ascertain the role of public servants in the leak after confronting the accused. Lokhanda was produced in court on Friday. Five accused were produced in court on Thursday: Khairnar, Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, and Yadav. The accused, arrested in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana, have been brought to Delhi on transit remand. “Their remand is necessary as it was a larger conspiracy in the whole nation… Papers were leaked and distributed. We need to find the extent to which the accused persons had access to the public servants and how many people from the printing press were involved,” the public prosecutor representing CBI told the court. On Friday, the public prosecutor said the investigation was ongoing and that Waghmare and Lokhanda were allegedly involved in providing the papers to Kharnair. The agency provided the same grounds of arrest for all seven accused persons.Story continues below this ad The CBI is learnt to have found that Khairnar allegedly informed Yash that Mangilal Biwal had approached him for “arranging leaked NEET UG 2026 question papers before the examination for his younger son for 10-12 lakhs”. According to the CBI, Mangilal allegedly contacted Yash on WhatsApp for the leaked papers. “On 29.04.2026, Shubham (Khairnar) allegedly informed Yash Yadav that he would provide leaked question papers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology papers which will have approximately 500-600 questions capable of securing around very good marks, which can ensure admission in reputed medical colleges,” the CBI said. After this, Yadav allegedly received PDF files of leaked question papers on Telegram. Mangilal allegedly purchased the paper from Yadav for 10 lakh, and provided it to his son, his cousin and his son’s friends. Mangilal’s son allegedly contacted several other candidates and shared these details with Yadav over WhatsApp and Instagram, the CBI has said. “Dinesh Biwal… stated that Yash Yadav had provided NEET UG 2026 leaked question sets in PDF format to his elder brother… on the Telegram application in consideration of Rs 12 lakhs, to be paid later, after taking security in the form of original educational documents and a signed blank cheque,” the CBI alleged.Story continues below this ad In its remand papers submitted before the court, the CBI said it needed the custody of the accused to “prevent further commission of similar offences involving leakage of question papers” and to “identify and apprehend other co-accused persons involved in the offence”. It also said it needed to “recover and analyse digital devices” and uncover the “financial trail connected to the NEET UG 2026 examination”. There was also a need to “unearth the larger conspiracy” by identifying officials of NTA, which conducts the NEET