Pune Teacher Arrested NEET Leak Shakes Education
A Pune teacher arrested in the NEET leak case has sent shockwaves across India’s medical education system. On May 16, 2026, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior Botany teacher from Pune, for allegedly leaking the Biology question paper of the NEET UG 2026 examination. Mandhare is the second Pune-based teacher to be arrested in this scandal — and her case is particularly alarming because she was appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) itself as an expert on the paper-setting committee.
The arrest has intensified scrutiny on the NTA, left 22 lakh students in limbo, and triggered one of the largest CBI operations in the history of Indian competitive examinations.
Who Is Manisha Mandhare? The NTA Insider Behind the Biology Leak
Manisha Gurunath Mandhare is a senior Botany lecturer based in Pune, Maharashtra. What makes her case uniquely grave is the level of access she had: the CBI confirmed that she was officially appointed by the NTA as a subject expert and had complete, legitimate access to both the Botany and Zoology question papers for NEET UG 2026.
According to the CBI’s official statement, Mandhare did not merely receive a leaked paper — she was allegedly one of its sources. Investigators say she misused her insider position to conduct special coaching classes at her Pune residence in April 2026, where she dictated leaked questions and answers to select students. Most of those questions appeared verbatim in the actual NEET UG exam held on May 3, 2026.
She was identified and arrested after CBI interrogated alleged kingpin P.V. Kulkarni, the Chemistry professor arrested a day earlier on May 15.
How the NEET UG 2026 Biology Paper Leak Worked
The modus operandi was disturbingly simple, yet meticulously organised:
- Recruitment via middlemen: Mandhare allegedly mobilised prospective NEET candidates through Manisha Wagmare, a Pune-based consultant who was arrested on May 14, 2026.
- Secret coaching classes: Selected students were invited to special coaching sessions held at Mandhare’s private residence in Pune.
- Dictation of leaked questions: At these sessions, Mandhare allegedly dictated questions, answer options, and correct answers directly from the Biology paper. Students wrote them down by hand in their notebooks.
- Exact match confirmed: The CBI confirmed that the handwritten notes taken by students “exactly tallied” with the official NEET UG 2026 Biology paper — covering Botany and Zoology sections.
- Payment in lakhs: Students reportedly paid several lakh rupees each to gain access to these sessions.
As reported by NDTV, the investigation has established a direct chain linking Mandhare’s insider access to the circulation of the paper well before exam day.
The Alleged Kingpin: PV Kulkarni and the Chemistry Paper Leak
Manisha Mandhare’s arrest comes just one day after the CBI arrested P.V. Kulkarni, a retired Chemistry teacher from Pune originally from Latur, Maharashtra. The CBI has labelled Kulkarni the alleged “kingpin” of the entire NEET UG 2026 paper leak network.
Kulkarni also served on an NTA paper-setting panel and had privileged access to the Chemistry question paper. Like Mandhare, he allegedly ran secret coaching classes in the last week of April 2026 — dictating Chemistry questions, options, and correct answers to a hand-picked group of students. The handwritten notes recovered from students matched the actual exam paper exactly.
The emerging picture is of a coordinated insider conspiracy, with subject experts exploiting their NTA-appointed roles to monetise the paper.
The Network: Nine Arrests Across Multiple States
The NEET 2026 paper leak is not a localised Pune scam. The CBI probe has unearthed a multi-state distribution network:
| Accused | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|
| P.V. Kulkarni | Alleged kingpin, Chemistry leak source | Pune / Latur |
| Manisha Mandhare | Co-mastermind, Biology leak source | Pune |
| Manisha Wagmare | Pune consultant / student recruiter | Pune |
| Dhananjay Lokhande | Paper receiver and distributor | Ahilyanagar |
| Shubham Khairnar | Further circulation of paper | Nashik |
| Yash Yadav | Circulated paper onward | Gurugram |
| Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dinesh Biwal | Buyers / further distribution | Jaipur |
As of May 16, 2026, nine people have been arrested from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, and Ahilyanagar. Five have already been sent to 7-day police custody remand for detailed interrogation. The CBI says searches have been conducted at multiple locations, and forensic analysis of seized electronic devices, mobile phones, and documents is ongoing.
How the Leak Was First Discovered
The unravelling of the scam began not with the CBI, but with an alert teacher in Sikar, Rajasthan. After the NEET UG exam concluded on May 4, a teacher associated with a reputed coaching institute came across a suspicious 60-page document containing approximately 90 Chemistry questions and several Biology questions — all of which matched the actual exam paper.
The teacher first approached local police, then sent a formal complaint to the NTA via email on May 7. In Latur, parents also filed complaints after 42 questions from a coaching institute’s mock test matched the NEET exam exactly. These complaints triggered the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) investigation, which was subsequently handed over to the CBI.
The CBI registered the case on May 12, 2026, based on a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. Special teams were formed and pan-India raids were launched within hours.
NEET UG 2026 Cancelled: What Happens to 22 Lakh Students?
The NEET UG 2026 examination — held on May 3 — has been fully cancelled by the NTA. This is the first complete cancellation of NEET in its history, affecting approximately 22 lakh (2.2 million) registered candidates.
The re-examination has been scheduled for June 21, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM. All registered candidates will be eligible to appear.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while addressing the crisis, admitted there was a breach and announced sweeping NEET reforms:
- NEET will shift to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from the next academic year.
- The Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet system — identified as a key vulnerability — will be phased out.
- A review of the NTA’s paper-setting and security protocols is underway.
Government Response and NTA Accountability
The NEET 2026 paper leak scandal has reignited the debate over the credibility of the NTA, which also faced a major NEET controversy in 2024. Combined, the two scandals have severely eroded public trust in India’s most important medical entrance examination.
NTA Director General Abhishek Singh stated he was not immediately aware of the CBI’s findings at the time of Kulkarni’s arrest. The Ministry of Education has since taken a more direct role, with the Department of Higher Education filing the formal complaint that set the CBI investigation in motion.
FAQ: Pune Teacher Arrested NEET Leak — Your Questions Answered
Q1. Who is Manisha Mandhare and why was she arrested?
Manisha Gurunath Mandhare is a senior Botany teacher from Pune who was appointed by the NTA as a subject expert for NEET UG 2026. The CBI arrested her on May 16, 2026, on suspicion of leaking the Biology (Botany and Zoology) question paper. She allegedly conducted secret coaching classes where she dictated leaked exam questions to students who paid lakhs of rupees.
Q2. Who is PV Kulkarni in the NEET 2026 leak case?
P.V. Kulkarni is a retired Chemistry teacher from Pune, originally from Latur, Maharashtra. The CBI calls him the alleged “kingpin” of the NEET UG 2026 paper leak. He was on the NTA’s paper-setting panel for Chemistry and allegedly leaked questions through secret coaching classes in the last week of April 2026. He was arrested on May 15, 2026.
Q3. How many people have been arrested in the NEET 2026 paper leak case so far?
As of May 16, 2026, nine people have been arrested from cities including Pune, Latur, Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Jaipur, and Gurugram. The accused include NTA-appointed teachers, middlemen, recruiters, and students who paid for leaked papers.
Q4. Will NEET UG 2026 be re-conducted? When is the re-exam date?
Yes. The NTA has officially announced that the NEET UG 2026 re-examination will be held on June 21, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM. All 22 lakh registered candidates are eligible to appear.
Q5. How did the NEET 2026 paper leak come to light?
A teacher in Sikar, Rajasthan, flagged a suspicious document after the May 3 exam that contained questions matching the actual NEET paper. Separately, parents in Latur complained that 42 questions from a coaching mock test matched the exam. These reports prompted the Rajasthan SOG to investigate, and the case was later handed over to the CBI, which registered it on May 12, 2026.
Q6. Is the NTA being held accountable for the NEET 2026 paper leak?
The Ministry of Education has acknowledged the breach. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that NEET will shift to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) mode next year to prevent future leaks. A broader review of NTA’s security protocols is underway. Critics and student groups are calling for more structural reforms, including an independent oversight body for national entrance exams.
Conclusion: A Scandal That Demands Systemic Reform
The arrest of Pune teacher Manisha Mandhare — an NTA-appointed insider — in the NEET biology paper leak case is not just a criminal story. It is a warning about what happens when institutional trust is placed in individuals without robust checks. The NEET 2026 scam has exposed serious vulnerabilities in India’s paper-setting process: from insider access to offline dictation networks to multi-state distribution chains.
For 22 lakh students who prepared honestly for years, the cancellation is devastating. The re-exam on June 21 offers a path forward, but real justice will require both prosecuting the guilty and rebuilding the examination system from the ground up.
Stay updated with Hindustan News Times for the latest developments in the NEET 2026 paper leak case, CBI arrests, and the re-examination schedule.