The NEET-UG 2026 exam was compromised because the same group of individuals was responsible for both creating and translating the test questions, revealing a serious procedural flaw.
Circumstances of the Leak
According to sources cited by PTI, teachers responsible for preparing and translating the NEET-UG 2026 questions allegedly memorized the final questions, recalled them from memory, and passed them on to a specific group of students attending their private courses.
Responsibility of the Creators
The test creators—Chemistry teacher P. V. Kulkarni, Physics teacher Manish Gurunat Mandhare, and Biology teacher Manish Sanjay Havaldar—were responsible for both creating the questions and translating them into Marathi. This gave them prolonged access to the final version of the material before the exam, which took place on May 3rd.
Despite experts being kept in sterile conditions during preparation, they were allowed to return home daily. It is alleged that during this period, they recalled the questions from memory and shared them with selected students, labeling them as 'very important' without disclosing that they related to the upcoming NEET exam.
Distribution of Materials
Subsequently, reports indicate that the questions spread beyond the training centers after a local cosmetologist, Manisha Waghmare, allegedly received the recalled set of questions from some students. She supposedly printed these questions in a format resembling a paper document and sold them to Dhandjani Nivrutti Lokhande, who distributed them through a network of intermediaries in different states in exchange for hundreds of thousands of rupees.
Official Reaction and Investigation
The agency unofficially reported this issue to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and likely recommended separating these two functions in its official findings. The incident came to light after one candidate received the alleged question paper and notified the NTA, leading to the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 exam on May 12th.
The Ministry of Education of the Union subsequently handed the investigation over to the CBI, which arrested 13 people, including three subject experts, Waghmare, training center staff, and alleged intermediaries.
