The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a nearly 20,000-page chargesheet in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, naming 13 accused and describing the operation as a countrywide network involving National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, coaching institutes and middlemen. The agency said the leaked question papers were circulated from Maharashtra through Rajasthan, Haryana and Kerala using messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.
A special fast-track court at Rouse Avenue on Wednesday, 29th July, listed the chargesheet for consideration on 3rd August. The court also gave the CBI three more days to submit the remaining annexures, including witness statements and the list of documents. Judge Anu Grover Baliga accepted the request after the agency said the records were still being scanned before being supplied to the accused.
13 accused named in chargesheet
The chargesheet names Renukai Career Coaching Institute owner Shivraj Raghunath Motegoankar, NTA subject experts Pralhad Vithalrao Kulkarni (Chemistry), Manisha Gurunath Mandhare (Biology) and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar (Physics), APMA Coaching Institute faculty member Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, Latur-based doctor Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure and eight intermediaries.
The CBI has invoked charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The chargesheet includes 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects. All 13 accused are currently in judicial custody.
Forensic evidence and money trail
Investigators searched Motegoankar’s residence and recovered a mobile phone that contained handwritten chemistry questions. Forensic analysis found 36 images, including five duplicates, carrying 132 handwritten chemistry questions. The images were reportedly captured on a Samsung Fold7 on 23rd April, ten days before the 3rd May examination. Around 111 questions matched the NTA master sets for NEET-UG 2026.
The CBI said Motegoankar obtained chemistry questions for ₹5 lakh through Dr Manoj Shirure for his son and other students. Shirure’s hospital in Latur was reportedly used as the place where Motegoankar’s son accessed the paper before the examination. Two other doctors were also referred to obtain the paper for their children after paying ₹3 lakh each.
Investigators also traced a ₹5 lakh payment from Motegoankar’s wife, which was later recovered from the residence of a Shirure family member. Kulkarni is also accused of working with Dhananjay Lokhande and Manisha Waghmare since 2021 to procure and circulate the leaked papers.
Teacher’s email led to first alert
The first warning about the leak came from chemistry teacher Shashikant Suthar of Sikar, Rajasthan. In a 7th May email to the NTA, he said his landlord received two PDF question papers through WhatsApp from his son, a first-year MBBS student in Kerala. After comparing the PDFs with the actual NEET paper, Suthar confirmed they matched and informed the NTA.
According to the email, the student received the files on 2nd May from a roommate. The chain eventually led to a person who first demanded ₹40,000 for the paper but later accepted ₹30,000 through PhonePe. The email also stated that 450 solved questions and answers were shared at 11 pm on 2nd May, suggesting the paper had reached students before the examination.
The CBI took over the investigation on 12th May after a complaint from the Department of Higher Education. The 3rd May examination was later cancelled, and a re-examination was held on 21st June. The agency said it has traced the full network, followed the money trail and frozen several bank accounts, lockers and a demat account linked to the accused.
