New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to file the first chargesheet in the NEET (UG) 2026 examination question paper leak case next
week. A total of 13 accused will be named in the chargesheet. All 13 were arrested by the probe agency from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilya Nagar in the days after the matter surfaced in May this year. Notably, no National Testing Agency (NTA) officials will be named in the first chargesheet, sources said. Their role is still under investigation. The CBI made the last arrests in the case on May 27. "Dr Manoj Shirure, a Latur-based doctor, played a key role in facilitating three students, including the son of an accused coaching centre owner, in obtaining the Chemistry questions from accused P.V. Kulkarni," the CBI had said in a statement. "Another arrested accused is Tejas Harshad Kumar Shah, a Physics faculty member at Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy (APMA), a Pune-based coaching centre. He received the leaked Physics questions for the NEET UG 2026 examination from arrested accused Manisha Havaldar," the CBI had said on May 27. Amid nationwide outrage, the government ordered a CBI probe. The anti-corruption agency registered a case on May 12 based on a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, regarding the alleged paper leak in the NEET-UG 2026 examination. Following the registration of the case, the CBI formed special teams, conducted searches at multiple locations across the country, and picked up and interrogated several suspects. The CBI, in its investigation, revealed that accused Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar knowingly procured confidential Chemistry questions through co-conspirators by paying Rs 5 lakh through co-accused Dr Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure for the benefit of his son and students at his coaching institute, RCC (Renukai Coaching Centre), Latur. The submission was made by the CBI while opposing Motegaonkar's bail plea. "Investigation revealed that Aditya Motegaonkar, son of the applicant/accused Shivraj Motegaonkar, attended special classes conducted by co-accused P.V. Kulkarni, where leaked Chemistry questions were provided. He prepared handwritten notes based on those questions. During the search, a mobile phone used by Shivraj Motegaonkar was found to contain 36 images (including five duplicate images) comprising 132 handwritten Chemistry questions, purportedly in the handwriting of Shivraj Motegaonkar. The metadata showed that the images were captured using a Samsung Fold 7—the same phone from which they were recovered—on April 23, prior to the NEET UG 2026 examination held on May 3," the probe agency told the court. While opposing the bail plea, the CBI further stated that the investigation revealed Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar is the Managing Director and founder of Renukai Career Centre (RCC), a coaching institute based in Maharashtra. While its primary base is in Latur, the institute has expanded to multiple branches in Latur (head office), Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Solapur, Kolhapur and Akola. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) was cancelled by the National Testing Agency on May 12 following an internal probe that indicated a suspected paper leak. Subsequently, a re-examination was conducted for more than 20 lakh candidates on June 21, 2026. Protests erupted across the country over the paper leak with protesters demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. The Opposition isalso targeting the government over the paper leak.
