CBI arrests retired professor on NTA panel that set NEET paper

NEW DELHI/CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: CBI connected Fr-iday said it had arrested a retired chemistry professor, who it identified arsenic a cardinal accused successful the NEET-UG 2026 insubstantial leak case, successful Latur.PV Kulkarni, who spent implicit 3 decades successful academia, was associated with National Testing Agency (NTA) arsenic portion of the sheet that acceptable the question paper. TOI had reported connected Friday that CBI was looking astatine radical who had prepared the questions.Officials claimed Kulkarni archetypal attempted to merchantability the insubstantial locally but turned to a wider web aft failing to person buyers of its authenticity. “In the past week of April, Kulkarni mobilised st-udents, with the assistance of different accused named Manisha Waghmare, and conducted peculiar coaching classes for them astatine his residence successful Pune,” a CBI spokesperson said.Kulkarni allegedly dictated the questions, on with the options and the close answers, during these peculiar classes. “The questions were handwritten by students successful their notebooks and person tallied precisely with the existent question insubstantial of the exam held connected May 3,” CBI added.The bureau is present examining much radical associated with mounting questions, CBI sources said.This leak is antithetic from ones encountered previously. Probes into earlier leaks had detected radical extracurricular the halfway concatenation of entree who were portion of an organised pack and breached exam integrity astatine aboriginal stages, similar organisation of papers astatine exam centres.

The probe has besides brought coaching institutes nether scrutiny. CBI questioned the manager of a Latur-based coaching centre with units crossed Maharashtra. Officials conducted searches astatine his residence, seized his cellphone and issued a announcement for further questioning astatine the agency’s Pune office.CBI, arsenic earlier reported by TOI, has sought elaborate accusation from NTA astir each stakeholder who had entree to the question insubstantial earlier it was sealed: radical who acceptable the questions, taxable experts, and professors and teachers connected the sheet that prepared the questions, too details of the full insubstantial mentation process.Kulkarni is the eighth apprehension successful the case. Waghmare was arrested earlier by CBI on with six others. Officials said Waghmare had received wealth from astir 21 slope accounts up of the introspection held connected May 3. She runs a quality parlour successful Pune and was acting arsenic an intermediary for co-accused Dhananjay Lokhande, a BAMS postgraduate who ran a consultancy successful Pune.In New Delhi, peculiar CBI justice Ajay Gupta remanded Lokhande to six days’ constabulary custody, with the CBI saying it was indispensable to place “NTA officials progressive successful the insubstantial leak”.