NEET UG 2026 Probe Latest Update: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested another key accused in the alleged NEET UG 2026 paper leak case linked to the Physics question paper. The accused, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, currently employed at Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala in Pune, Maharashtra, was appointed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an expert and had access to Physics question papers of the examination.
The Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported, quoting an official, that the accused was arrested after a detailed interrogation by the central agency. Investigators alleged that during April, she shared several physics questions of the NEET UG examination with co-accused Manisha Mandhare, who had earlier been arrested on May 16.
The agency said that the questions shared by Havaldar matched the physics questions that eventually appeared in various NEET UG 2026 paper sets, establishing her role as a crucial source in the leak, the IANS reported.
"The CBI has identified another key accused who was the source for the leak of NEET UG 2026 physics questions," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. "She had complete access to the physics question paper. In April, she shared some of the questions with co-accused Manisha Mandhare," the statement said.
The CBI arrested Mandhare, a botany teacher from Pune, in connection with the NEET paper leak on May 16, the PTI reported. According to the report, the agency found that the questions Havaldar shared with the aspirants tallied with the physics paper of the NEET Undergraduate exam of 2026.
According to IANS, the CBI also conducted searches at multiple locations across the country as part of the ongoing investigation. During the raids, officials have seized several incriminating documents, laptops, bank statements and mobile phones. The agency said forensic and technical analysis of the seized materials is currently underway.
IANS also quoted officials as saying that with the latest arrest, the total number of accused arrested in the case has risen to 11. The arrests have been made from multiple locations, including Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar.
The probe has so far revealed the alleged involvement of a wider network of middlemen and facilitators who mobilised students willing to pay huge sums of money to access leaked questions through special coaching sessions before the examination.
According to investigators, these middlemen arranged confidential coaching classes where questions that were expected to appear in the NEET UG 2026 examination were allegedly circulated among students after collecting lakhs of rupees from candidates and their families.
On May 12, the NTA cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.