The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Pune-based professor PV Kulkarni, accused of being the primary conspirator or “Kingpin” within the NEET paper leak case, from his residence in Pune, in line with officers on Friday.
The accused, Kulkarni, initially from Latur and a Chemistry knowledgeable, had served on the panel accountable for setting the NEET query paper for a number of years, officers mentioned, as per a PTI report.
How Prof PV Kulkarni grew to become ‘kingpin’ in NEET paper leak case
He was related to the examination course of performed by the Nationwide Testing Company (NTA), which gave him entry to the query papers, Hindustan Instances cited officers as saying.
Kuljarni mobilised college students with the help of co-accused Manisha Waghmare within the final week of April, previous to the Could 3 examination, which was later cancelled, CBI officers talked about.
Officers mentioned that, utilizing his entry to the query papers, he allegedly organised particular teaching periods at his residence. Throughout these courses, he’s accused of dictating questions together with multiple-choice choices and the right solutions.
College students wrote down the dictated content material of their notebooks, which was later discovered to “precisely match” the NEET-UG 2026 query paper performed on Could 3, the official added, as per PTI.
Rouse Avenue court docket remands accused for six days of CBI custody
On Friday, the Rouse Avenue Court docket despatched accused Dhananjay Lokhande to 6 days of custody with the CBI in reference to the NEET UG paper leak case. The company mentioned the custody was essential to hint and arrest officers of the NTA allegedly concerned within the wider conspiracy, in line with ANI.
Whereas looking for remand, the CBI said that Lokhande, additionally identified to co-accused Shubham Madhukar Khairnar, had obtained NEET 2026 examination supplies from one other accused, Manisha Waghmare, a Pune resident.
In keeping with the company, Lokhande then forwarded the leaked query paper to Khairnar, who subsequently despatched PDF copies of the paper to Yash Yadav by way of Telegram on April 24.
The CBI additional said that after receiving the NEET examination paper for 2026, Dhananjay Lokhande allegedly handed it on to co-accused Shubham Madhukar Khairnar. It was additionally reported that on April 24, Yash Yadav obtained PDF copies of the leaked query paper from Khairnar by way of Telegram.
The company argued that Lokhande’s custodial interrogation was essential to get better digital gadgets, digital information, and particulars of monetary transactions, in addition to to hint officers of the Nationwide Testing Company allegedly concerned within the leak and to uncover the broader conspiracy.
After listening to each side, Particular Decide Ajay Gupta granted six days of police custody to the CBI for Lokhande. The opposite 5 accused have been additionally despatched to CBI custody for seven days, and all accused are scheduled to be produced earlier than the court docket on Could 22.
Throughout the listening to, CBI prosecutor Neetu Singh knowledgeable the court docket that Lokhande was arrested on Could 13 in Ahilya Nagar, Maharashtra, and was later introduced on a two-day transit remand granted by a court docket in Ahmednagar the identical night.
Opposing the remand, defence counsel Vikram Singh argued that neither the arrest memo was offered to the accused or his household, and alleged that signatures have been taken on clean paperwork. He additional claimed that custody was pointless as all recoveries had already been accomplished.
In keeping with the investigation, Lokhande allegedly obtained the query paper from co-accused Manisha Waghmare of Pune after which forwarded it to Khairnar. The probe additionally revealed suspected monetary transactions of round ₹6 lakh between Lokhande and Khairnar, supported by financial institution information and digital proof collected in the course of the investigation.
The CBI said that accused Shubham Madhukar Khairnar allegedly obtained the leaked query paper with the intent of promoting it for financial acquire. He’s additional accused of enabling Yash Yadav to flow into the leaked NEET (UG) 2026 query paper. Subsequently, on April 29, Yadav reportedly obtained PDF recordsdata of the query paper by way of Telegram, which included papers for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology which have since been recovered.
The CBI can also be questioning 5 different accused individuals in reference to the case. Investigators allege that Khairnar of Nashik obtained the NEET UG query paper on April 28, 2025, from Dhananjay Lokhande, who in flip allegedly sourced it by an NTA-linked contact.
A Particular CBI Court docket on Thursday remanded 5 accused — Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Yash Yadav, and Shubham Khairnar — to seven days of CBI custody. Whereas looking for custody, the company mentioned interrogation was essential to determine officers of the Nationwide Testing Company and different departments allegedly concerned in leaking the NEET UG 2026 query paper previous to the examination.
The CBI additional submitted that Khairnar performed a key function in distributing the leaked query paper to Yash Yadav in Gurugram.
(With inputs from companies)
