CBI arrests Latur-based coaching centre founder in NEET-UG paper leak case

The CBI has arrested the founder of a coaching centre based in Maharashtra's Latur over his alleged involvement in the NEET-UG paper leak, officials said on Monday.

Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, who runs Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC), was arrested on Sunday evening after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recovered a leaked question paper of the examination held on May 3 from his mobile phone during searches at his premises, the officials said.

According to the officials, Motegaonkar was allegedly an "active member of the organised gang" involved in the leakage and circulation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)- Undergraduate (UG) paper.

His coaching centre has nine branches, including the main branch in Latur.

As part of a conspiracy with other accused persons, Motegaonkar received the question paper and answers on April 23, nearly 10 days before the high-stakes examination was held across the country and abroad, the CBI said in its grounds for arrest.

The agency has alleged that Motegaonkar provided copies of the leaked question papers and answer sheets to several people in the form of handwritten notes that were destroyed after the examination was held.

"He is close to P V Kulkarni, chemistry lecturer, who is associated with the NTA (National Testing Agency). Searches conducted at his institute and residence resulted in the recovery of the chemistry question bank, which contained exactly the same questions that appeared in the NEET exam held on 3rd May," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The CBI said it will send the seized mobile phone for forensic analysis to recover deleted data, if any.

The agency conducted searches at the coaching centre in the Shivnagar locality of Latur on Sunday afternoon.

Motegaonkar was questioned for nearly eight hours on Friday at his residence in the same area.

"In the last 24 hours, the CBI has also conducted searches at five locations at various places and seized several incriminating documents, laptops and mobile phones. A detailed analysis of the seized items is going on," the spokesperson said.

So far, 10 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar, the statement said.

The agency had earlier arrested a chemistry lecturer, P V Kulkarni, and a biology lecturer, Manisha Mandhare, both known to each other through a woman, Manisha Waghmare, who is also in CBI custody.

The two lecturers had allegedly roped in Waghmare to bring in NEET aspirants for special sessions before the examination.

Students allegedly paid several lakh rupees to attend the sessions, where they wrote the questions down in their notebooks that later "tallied exactly" with the actual NEET-UG paper, the officials said.

"Investigation is continuing with the special teams and the investigation conducted so far has brought out the actual source of the leakage of chemistry and biology papers which were circulated before the exam.

Further, the middlemen involved in mobilising the students who paid lakhs of rupees to attend the special coaching classes, where the questions that would come in the NEET UG-2026 exam were dictated and discussed, have also been arrested," the spokesperson said.

The CBI has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the NEET-UG.

The exam was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres.

Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the exam, which was administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA) across the country.

According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the exam was held.

The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for an "independent verification and necessary action".