The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested senior botany teacher Manisha Gurunath Mandhare from Delhi on Saturday. She is accused of leaking the biology paper for the NEET-UG 2026 exam.
According to the CBI, Mandhare was appointed by the NTA as an expert and had full access to the Botany and Zoology question papers. In April 2026 she conducted special coaching classes at her Pune residence where she explained questions to students.
Investigators found that most of those questions matched the actual paper used in the May 3 2026 exam. Chemistry expert P V Kulkarni had already been arrested earlier in the same probe. Nine people have now been taken into custody across multiple states.
The NTA cancelled the original test and scheduled a retest for June 21. The CBI carried out raids at six locations and recovered documents along with electronic devices.
