As of May 18, 2026, 10:02 AM IST, the CBI investigation into the NEET-UG paper leak case has turned its focus on Pune beautician Manisha Waghmare, who allegedly acted as a common link between students searching for tuition teachers and teachers from reputed schools. Waghmare, 46, runs a beauty parlour in Pune’s Sukhsagar Nagar and was arrested on May 14 before being remanded in CBI custody for 10 days from May 16, along with retired teacher P V Kulkarni. Investigators suspect that her contact network was later used to identify students willing to pay for leaked NEET-UG question paper content. The probe also involves Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, 57, an expert on the National Testing Agency’s question-setting panel for NEET-UG 2026. A Delhi court granted the CBI 14 days’ custody of Mandhare after the agency identified her as one of the alleged masterminds in the case.
According to the CBI’s submission before the court, Mandhare allegedly had access to the Botany and Zoology question papers through her role in the NEET-UG 2026 question-setting process and leaked exam-related content to selected students for substantial monetary gains. The agency alleged that Mandhare conspired with Waghmare and Kulkarni, and that Waghmare came to know about Mandhare’s access to the final question sets before planning the leak. Investigators claim Waghmare began looking for suitable candidates and allegedly struck deals of around Rs 10 lakh per student. Of that amount, Waghmare, Mandhare and Kulkarni allegedly planned to share around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh among themselves. Waghmare also allegedly arranged four to five students and shared the plan with her old friend Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande.
The alleged paper leak chain widened after Lokhande reportedly approached Shubham Khairnar, who ran a counselling business in Nashik and became the first suspect arrested after the exam was cancelled. Investigators allege that Lokhande received the NEET paper from Waghmare and passed it to Khairnar, who then shared PDF files with Yash Yadav, a Gurugram resident, and later with people in Jaipur. Yadav has also been arrested. Seeking Mandhare’s custody, the CBI told the court that the investigation is at an initial and crucial stage, a larger conspiracy is suspected, and several accused are still to be identified and arrested. The agency said custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the organised paper leak gang and recover incriminating material, while Mandhare’s counsel opposed the request, arguing that she is a 57-year-old lecturer, is cooperating with the probe, and does not need custody
