The Central government on Saturday appointed two joint secretaries and two joint directors in the National Testing Agency after the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak that led to the cancellation of the exam.
The government has named Anuja Bapat and Ruchita Vij as the two joint secretaries for five years, the order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. Meanwhile, Akash Jain and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya have been appointed as the joint directors in the agency, a separate order read.
Who are the new appointees?
Anuja is a 1998-batch officer of the Indian Statistical Service, while Vij is a 2004-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) officer. Both of them have been appointed in their roles for five years, the order read.
Jain, who was one of the two appointees, is a an IRS (Income Tax) officer, while Bhojgadhiya is an Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer.
CBI arrests second mastermind in paper leak
The Central Bureau of India (CBI) has arrested another "paper leak mastermind", Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior botany teacher from 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.
Nine accused arrested so far
So far, nine accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune and Ahliyanagar. Out of these, five accused have already been produced before the court and taken into seven-day police custody remand for detailed interrogation. The other two accused, who were arrested yesterday, have been produced before the court in Pune and shifted to Delhi after taking Transit Remand. They are being produced before the Delhi court.
CBI has also intensified searches for two more associates of "paper leak kingpin" PV Kulkarni for their alleged involvement in the NEET paper leak. According to sources, two more lecturers, along with PV Kulkarni and Manisha Waghmare, played a key role in the paper leak. The CBI is conducting raids in Pune and Latur in search of the lecturers. PV Kulkarni, the mastermind behind the NEET paper leak, was arrested on Friday, May 15, in Pune.
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