Pune: It was a significant development in the investigation of the medical entrance exam scam when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the mastermind behind the leak of the question paper for NEET-UG 2026 on Friday. The person behind the crime is said to be PV Kulkarni, a retired lecturer of chemistry, whose native place is Latur, but he was nabbed at his house in Pune, Maharashtra.
The federal agency disclosed that Kulkarni, owing to his connection with NTA through which he was directly involved in the conduct of the test, had easy access to the question papers.
It is further stated by the CBI that Kulkarni, along with another accused, Manisha Waghmare, whom he arrested yesterday, planned a series of secret classes for students in the last week of April 2026. They held such secret classes at the Pune house of PV Kulkarni.
These special classes were attended exclusively by Kulkarni, who reportedly dictated the chemistry questions, including the answers along with the four options provided in each question. The handwritten notes found in the students’ notebooks were said to be “exactly tallying” with the official NEET-UG question paper that appeared in the national level examination held on May 3.
The national-level examination, which involved participation of more than 22 lakh candidates aspiring to join the medical stream, was scrapped on May 12 by the Ministry of Education amid widespread complaints of systematic leak, which had originally emerged in Rajasthan. A re-test is currently set for June 21, and it was revealed that in the coming year, the exam would be held in a completely online computer-based mode.
The CBI assumed charge of the probe on May 12 after receiving a formal complaint from the Department of Higher Education. After interrogating Kulkarni, the number of arrested accused in the case rose to eight. Five of his accomplices are in police custody for another seven days, while Kulkarni himself would appear in a local court at Pune for transit remand to New Delhi.
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