The CBI investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case has brought a surprising name to the centre of the probe, a 46-year-old beautician from Pune who investigators say acted as a connection between students, tuition teachers and school teachers, and later became part of the network through which the leaked paper was circulated.
Manisha Waghmare, who runs a beauty parlour in Pune’s Sukhsagar Nagar area, was arrested on 14th May. She was sent to CBI custody for 10 days from 16th May, along with retired teacher P. V. Kulkarni. Investigators believe her role is important in understanding how the paper reached students before the exam.
NTA expert arrested, CBI calls her one of the main figures
The investigation took a major turn after the arrest of Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (57), a lecturer and member of the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) question-setting panel for NEET-UG 2026. She was arrested in Pune on 15th May.
On Sunday, a Delhi court granted the CBI 14 days of custody of Mandhare. The agency told the court that she had access to the final Botany and Zoology question papers because of her role in the paper-setting process.
According to the CBI, Mandhare shared exam-related content and questions with selected candidates in return for large amounts of money. The agency told the court that she had access to the final question sets during the preparation stage and later passed them on.
How the network was built
Investigators say Waghmare learned that Mandhare was involved in preparing the question papers and then planned with her. Later, retired teacher Prahlad Vittal Rao Kulkarni was also brought into the network.
CBI sources said Waghmare had connections with many students because they often approached her to help find tuition teachers. Using these contacts, she started searching for students willing to buy the leaked paper.
Investigators found that deals worth around Rs 10 lakh per student were discussed. Out of this amount, Waghmare, Mandhare and Kulkarni planned to divide around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh among themselves.
Papers reached students through multiple people
The probe found that Waghmare arranged four to five students and later informed her old friend, Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande, about the plan.
Lokhande then contacted Shubham Khairnar, who operated a counselling business in Nashik. Investigators say Lokhande received the NEET papers from Waghmare and passed them to Khairnar.
Khairnar later shared the PDF files with Gurugram resident Yash Yadav and also circulated them among people in Jaipur. Khairnar became the first person arrested in the case, just hours after the NEET exam was cancelled last Tuesday. Yadav was also later arrested.
CBI says bigger conspiracy yet to be uncovered
While seeking Mandhare’s custody, the CBI told the court that the investigation was still at an early and crucial stage, and more people connected to the organised paper leak network were yet to be identified and arrested.
The agency said custody was needed to uncover the wider conspiracy and recover important evidence linked to the case.
Meanwhile, Mandhare’s lawyer opposed the custody request, saying she is 57 years old, works as a lecturer and has been cooperating with the investigation, making further custody unnecessary.
