CBI Chargesheet Details How NTA Experts Allegedly Leaked NEET-UG Paper

Three subject experts associated with the National Testing Agency allegedly leaked questions from the NEET-UG 2026 examination by memorising them, writing them on small slips of paper and marking relevant passages in NCERT textbooks, according to a Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet. The agency’s 94-page chargesheet identifies chemistry expert PV Kulkarni, botany expert Manisha Mandhare and physics expert Manisha Havaldar as the alleged primary sources of the leak.

According to the chargesheet, the experts gained access to separate portions of the examination during the question-setting, moderation and translation processes at the NTA centre. They allegedly copied questions onto slips, identified corresponding NCERT chapters and passages and passed the information to students through intermediaries and coaching networks. For simpler questions, the accused allegedly relied on memory and wrote them down after returning to their hotel rooms.

The CBI alleged that the method was designed to avoid leaving a digital trail while providing selected candidates with an unfair advantage. Students were allegedly instructed to handwrite leaked questions during private coaching sessions, and investigators later recovered some of those notes during searches. The agency claimed that the operation was driven by financial gain and efforts to improve the success rates of tuition classes linked to some accused.

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The chargesheet also highlighted alleged security lapses at the NTA, including the absence of routine frisking of experts entering or leaving confidential areas. Investigators said Kulkarni performed back-translation work on three sets comprising 135 questions between March 31 and April 2, giving him access over three days. The CBI alleged that insiders exploited such official access before the examination paper was finalised and distributed.

The agency has charged 13 people, including the three subject experts, coaching-linked individuals, intermediaries and alleged beneficiary candidates. The accusations include criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. All allegations remain subject to judicial scrutiny and have not yet been proven in court.

The CBI filed the chargesheet and supporting material, running into approximately 20,000 pages, before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court. It cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects, while all 13 accused were reported to be in judicial custody. Following registration of the case on May 12, teams comprising 72 personnel and eight cyber-forensic experts searched 92 locations across several states, seized devices and documents, traced financial transactions and froze multiple bank accounts, lockers and a demat account.

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