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The Central Bureau of Investigation has made another arrest in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, taking the total number of accused arrested so far to eight. The agency on Friday arrested the alleged mastermind of the paper leak, PV Kulkarni, from Pune. Kulkarni is a chemistry lecturer.

Mastermind Had Access To Question Papers

According to investigators, Kulkarni was associated with the examination process conducted by the National Testing Agency and allegedly had access to the NEET-UG question papers.

The agency alleged that in the last week of April 2026, Kulkarni, along with co-accused Manisha Waghmare, who was arrested by the CBI on May 14, organised a group of students and conducted “special coaching classes” at his residence in Pune.

During these sessions, Kulkarni allegedly dictated questions, answer options and correct responses to the students, who manually copied them into notebooks. Investigators found that the questions matched exactly with the actual NEET-UG 2026 examination paper conducted on May 3.

Following sustained interrogation, Kulkarni, a native of Latur, was arrested in Pune.

CBI Carried Out Multiple Raids

The CBI also carried out multiple raids across the country over the last 24 hours, seizing several incriminating documents, electronic devices and mobile phones. Officials said forensic and technical analysis of the seized material is currently underway.

The case was registered by the CBI on May 12, 2026, based on a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Education Ministry regarding the alleged paper leak.

Soon after the FIR was lodged, special teams were formed and searches were conducted at multiple locations across the country. Several suspects were detained and questioned as part of the investigation.

Accused Arrested Across States

So far, seven accused have been arrested from Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune and Ahilyanagar. Of them, five have already been produced before a court and remanded to seven days of police custody for detailed interrogation.

The remaining two accused, arrested on Thursday, are being produced before a Pune court for transit remand and will subsequently be brought to Delhi.

The CBI said the investigation has so far uncovered not only the original source of the chemistry paper leak but also the network of middlemen allegedly involved in mobilising students who paid lakhs of rupees to attend the special coaching sessions where the leaked questions were discussed and solved.

The agency said it remains committed to conducting a comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation into the matter.