NEW DELHI, May 22: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested another key accused from Pune in connection with the 2026 NEET-UG paper leak case.
Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, currently employed with Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala in Pune, was arrested for allegedly leaking physics questions in NEET-UG 2026 examination, an agency official said. “The CBI has identified another key accused who was the source for the leak of NEET-UG 2026 physics questions,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
The agency alleged that Ms Havaldar was involved in the NEET UG process after being appointed an expert by the National Testing Agency (NTA). “She had complete access to the physics question paper. In April, she shared some of the questions with co-accused Manisha Mandhare,” the statement said.
The agency found that the questions Ms Havaldar shared with the aspirants tallied with the physics paper of NEET-UG 2026. Among those arrested earlier is senior botany teacher Manisha Gurunath Mandhare from Pune who allegedly leaked biology questions.
“The CBI conducted searches at various locations across the country and seized several incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones. A detailed analysis of the seized items is under way,” the agency said.
The CBI registered the case on May 12 following a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. Subsequently, special teams were formed to pursue the leads. Pune-based chemistry lecturer P.V. Kulkarni was also held on the charge of leaking chemistry questions.
The others arrested in the case are Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik in Maharashtra; Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal, and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Rajasthan; and Yash Yadav from Gurugram, Haryana. Over 22.79 lakh had appeared for the NEET-UG held on May 3 which was subsequently cancelled and re-test scheduled for June 21.
(Manas Dasgupta)
