CBI makes 11th arrest in NEET-UG paper leak

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested "another key accused" in the NEET-UG examination paper leak who the agency said was the "source for the leak" of physics questions.

The CBI said the accused, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, a teacher working at Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala in Pune, was involved in NEET UG 2026 as an expert appointed by the National Testing Agency. "She had complete access to the physics question papers," the agency said in a news release on Friday.

The federal agency said the woman shared some physics questions in April with co-accused Manisha Mandhare, who was already arrested in the case. "The questions she shared have tallied with the physics questions of NEET UG 2026 examination paper sets," the statement added.

The CBI said it has 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 going on, it said.

So far, the agency has arrested 11 people from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar.

The agency said in its investigation so far has brought out the actual source of the leakage of the question papers.

"The middlemen, involved in mobilising the students who paid lakhs of rupees to attend the special coaching classes where the questions which would come in the NEET UG-2026 exam were shared, have also been identified and arrested," it added.

The CBI registered an FIR in the case on May 12 based on a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education. Immediately after registration of the case, it constituted special teams, conducted searches at various locations across the country and questioned several people.