New Delhi: The retired professor from Pune, P. V. Kulkarni, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly leaking the 2026 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), had access to all sets of the question paper as he was also responsible for translating the questions into Marathi, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources, the origin of the leak has been traced to Kulkarni.
“Besides being part of the committee that set the question paper for the exam—in which he would give questions from his subject—he was the translator who was responsible for translating the entire paper to Marathi,” a source said. “So, even though as a paper setter he would not know what would finally go into the paper, as a translator, he had access to the entire paper.”
A NEET paper typically has four sets with 180 questions. Each set is divided into six sub-sets, including Physics, Chemistry and Biology. While the questions in each set are identical for the entire country, their sequence differs.
What has also widened the scope of the investigation for the agency is that Kulkarni was on the NTA panel since 2019, multiple sources confirmed to ThePrint. This has now raised suspicions that similar leaks may have occurred in previous years as well.
“This is a matter of investigation. He is being questioned on all these aspects,” the source said.
The chain and ‘club’
According to a second source, Kulkarni was friends with Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, a Chemistry tutor from Maharashtra’s Latur, who was also arrested Sunday. Motegaonkar runs Renukai Chemistry Classes in the region, and a YouTube channel called “Motegaonkar Sir’s RCC” with 1.68 lakh subscribers.
He allegedly obtained the question paper on 23 April, according to court documents submitted by the agency. The examination was held on 3 May. Copies of the leaked paper were recovered from Motegaonkar’s mobile phone during raids on 14 May, investigators said.
Kulkarni was also friends with Manisha Waghmare, a Pune-based businesswoman, and Dhananjay Lokhande, a career counsellor—both in CBI custody.
“They are all one club. They knew each other from before. Manisha, Motegaonkar and Dhananjay knew about Kulkarni’s access and his association with the NTA, and so all of them hatched this conspiracy to access the paper and earn big bucks,” the second source told ThePrint.
“This not only fetched them money, but also boosted the popularity of their coaching institutes and counselling businesses by allowing them to boast of a 100 percent NEET admission rate. They assured admissions, and such confidence comes only when you have such dealings,” the source added.
From this group in Maharashtra, the paper was then passed on to Shubham Khairnar in Nashik, who subsequently struck a deal with Yash Yadav in Gurugram and Mangilal Biwal from Rajasthan, in exchange for Rs 10–15 lakh.
The case was traced backwards from Biwal’s family to Kulkarni.
“The entire chain has now been established. There could be more beneficiaries in between, and that is a matter of investigation. The probe is also on to see if any more NTA officials were involved,” the source quoted above said.
So far, 10 accused have been arrested in connection with the matter from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)