As of May 18, 2026, 10:02 AM IST, the CBI probe into the NEET-UG paper leak case has focused on a 46-year-old Pune beautician, Manisha Waghmare, who allegedly became a common link between students searching for tuition teachers and teachers from reputed schools. Waghmare, who runs a beauty parlour in Pune’s Sukhsagar Nagar, was arrested on May 14 and remanded in CBI custody for 10 days from May 16, along with retired teacher P V Kulkarni. Investigators suspect that her student and teacher contacts were later used to distribute leaked NEET-UG question paper content, which eventually led to the cancellation of the exam. A Delhi court also granted 14 days’ custody of Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a 57-year-old expert on the National Testing Agency’s NEET-UG 2026 question-setting panel, after the CBI identified her as one of the alleged masterminds in the case.
According to the CBI’s court submission, Mandhare allegedly had access to Botany and Zoology question papers through her role in the question-setting process and leaked examination-related content to selected students for substantial monetary gains. The agency alleged that Mandhare conspired with Waghmare and Kulkarni, and that Waghmare came to know about Mandhare’s access to the final question sets before planning the leak. Investigators claim Waghmare then began looking for suitable candidates who could buy the paper and allegedly struck deals of around Rs 10 lakh per student. Of that amount, Waghmare, Mandhare and Kulkarni allegedly planned to share around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh among themselves. Sources also said Waghmare allegedly arranged four to five students and shared the plan with her old friend Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande.
The alleged leak chain widened after Lokhande reportedly approached Shubham Khairnar, who ran a counselling business in Nashik and became the first suspect arrested after the exam was cancelled. Investigators allege that Lokhande received the NEET paper from Waghmare and passed it to Khairnar, who then shared PDF files with Yash Yadav, a Gurugram resident, and later with people in Jaipur. Yadav has also been arrested. Seeking Mandhare’s custody, the CBI told the court that the investigation is at an initial and crucial stage, a larger conspiracy is suspected, and several accused are still to be identified and arrested. The agency said custodial interrogation was needed to uncover the organised paper leak gang and recover incriminating material, while Mandhare’s counsel opposed the request, arguing that she is a 57-year-old lecturer, cooperating with the probe, and does not require custody.
