NEET-UG paper leak row: Arrested biology lecturer Manisha Mandhare sent to 14-day CBI custody
A Delhi court granted the CBI 14-day custody of biology lecturer Manisha Mandhare in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. The CBI sought her custody during a hearing at Rouse Avenue Court, while her lawyer opposed the plea, claiming her arrest was unlawful.
A Delhi court on Sunday granted a 14-day CBI custody of biology lecturer Manisha Mandhare in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. The CBI had brought Mandhare, one of the key accused in the case to the Rouse Avenue court to produce her before the CB judge.
The CBI demanded the custody, which was opposed by Mandhare's lawyer, arguing that her arrest was illegal. He also asked the court to meet Mandhare during her custody for 15 minutes daily, which was allowed. However, the court accepted the request of the CBI to send the accused teacher to their custody for 14 days.
"Considering the facts and circumstances and nature of the offence and the prayer made in the present application, the application is allowed, and the accused Manisha Gurunath Mandhare is remanded to police custody for 14 days, subject to her medical examination. Let she be produced before the concerned court on 30.05.2026," the court said in its order.
CBI alleges Mandhare was in conspiracy with Kulkarni, Waghmare
The CBI alleged Mandhare to be an expert in translating Botany and Zoology question paper. It accused her of being in conspiracy with the other accused, PV Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare. The investigation agency also alleged that Mandhare gave the question paper to an accused, Shubham, and that the agency needs to take her to different parts of the country as the investigation is going on across the nation.
CBI arrested Mandhare for NEET-UG paper leak
The CBI arrested Mandhare on Saturday in Pune. As per CBI, the accused was the mastermind behind the Biology question paper leak. Mandhare was appointed by the NTA as an expert on the NEET-UG 2026 examination process. Consequently, she had full access to the Botany and Zoology question papers. The investigation revealed that during April 2026, she connected several NEET candidates through Manisha Waghmare of Pune, who was already arrested on May 14, said CBI.
During these classes, she explained and disclosed various questions from Botany and Zoology subjects and made the students note down the same in their notebooks and also mark in their textbooks. The majority of these questions tallied with the actual question paper of NEET UG 2026 held on May 3. In the last 24 hours, CBI has also conducted searches at six locations across the country and seized several incriminating documents, Laptops, bank statements and mobile phones.
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