New Delhi

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a doctor from Maharashtra’s Latur and a physics teacher from a Pune-based coaching institute in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, officials said on Wednesday.

The agency arrested Manoj Shirure, accusing him of playing a key role in helping three students obtain chemistry questions from NEET paper setter P V Kulkarni.

According to officials, the three students included the son of Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, who runs Renukai Chemistry Classes in Latur. Motegaonkar had already been arrested earlier in the case.

The CBI also arrested Tejas Harshadkumar Shah, a physics faculty member at Dr Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy in Pune.

Investigators alleged that Shah received leaked physics questions from accused Manisha Havaldar.

With the latest arrests, the total number of accused held in the case has risen to 13.

A CBI spokesperson said the agency is continuing its probe to identify the full conspiracy network behind the leak.

“The investigation to unearth the chain as well as the conspiracy in this case is ongoing. The CBI has so far conducted searches at 49 locations and seized several incriminating documents, laptops and mobile phones,” the spokesperson said.

The controversy erupted after the National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak. The re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21.

The CBI registered a case on May 12 based on a complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Education Ministry.

According to the agency, special investigation teams were formed immediately and raids were conducted across multiple states. Arrests have so far been made in Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar.

The agency said the investigation has identified the source of the paper leak as well as middlemen who allegedly collected large sums of money from students in exchange for access to leaked questions during special coaching sessions.

NEET-UG 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and 14 overseas centres, with nearly 23 lakh candidates registered for the examination.

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The NTA said it first received information about alleged irregularities on May 7 and subsequently shared the inputs with central agencies for further action.