NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: CBI arrests two more accused

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more accused persons in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case and conducted searches at 14 locations to track down the suspects. The agency has not yet ruled out the role of any public servant.

The arrested accused have been identified as ayurveda practitioner Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and beauty salon owner Manisha Waghmare from Pune in Maharashtra. The State police had detained the two accused and handed them over to the CBI.

The five accused earlier arrested by the agency were produced before a special Delhi court that sent them to seven days’ CBI custody for interrogation. They have been identified as Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal from Jaipur, Rajasthan; Yash Yadav from Gurugram, Haryana; and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik in Maharashtra.

While the agency is yet to unearth the entire conspiracy, it is suspected that Mr. Shubham provided the “guess” paper to Mr. Yash, who supplied it to Mangilal Biwal for his younger son. It is alleged that Mr. Yash knew Mangilal’s elder son Vikas from a coaching centre in Sikar, Rajasthan. Subsequently, the question paper was distributed among others.

The CBI registered the case on Tuesday, following a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. In coordination with the police in various States, it is probing the network behind the paper leak and those involved in the distribution of the “guess” paper that closely matched the actual question paper, as alleged.