The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed that as many as 111 of 136 handwritten questions recovered from the phone of a Latur-based coaching centre owner matched the master question sets prepared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for the NEET-UG 2026 examination, in a fresh disclosure that deepens the ongoing probe into this year’s medical entrance exam paper leak.
Questions recovered from coaching owner’s phone
According to the CBI, the 136 questions were captured across 31 images recovered from the cell phone of Shivraj Motegaonkar, who runs Renukai Chemistry Classes in Latur and also operates a YouTube channel with over 1.68 lakh subscribers.
Investigators allege Motegaonkar obtained these questions on April 23 nearly ten days before the exam at a hospital premises in Latur run by a city-based paediatrician.
Alleged leak to NTA panel member
The questions were allegedly leaked by P V Kulkarni, a chemistry subject expert and translator on the NTA panel, who investigators say reached Motegaonkar through the paediatrician, in exchange for ₹5 lakh.
The CBI alleges Motegaonkar further profited from the transaction, having reportedly bought the paper for ₹10 lakh and sold it on for ₹15 lakh, pocketing a ₹5 lakh margin himself.
The agency also alleges that Motegaonkar destroyed the leaked material after the exam was conducted, amounting to destruction of evidence.
A case that began in Rajasthan
The investigation was originally taken up by Rajasthan’s Special Operations Group (SOG), which found that around 135 of over 400 questions circulating online in a “guess paper” also appeared in the actual NEET-UG exam, held on May 3 for nearly 22 lakh aspirants across the country.
The Centre transferred the probe to the CBI in May following the SOG’s preliminary findings, and the agency has since registered a case invoking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence, along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.
Wider network under the scanner
Beyond Motegaonkar and Kulkarni, the CBI’s probe has expanded to include several others allegedly linked to the network including a Pune-based botany professor associated with the NTA’s paper-setting process, additional intermediaries suspected of facilitating access to leaked material, and other doctors who allegedly paid to procure the paper for relatives.
In one instance, the CBI has alleged that the paediatrician linked to Motegaonkar had also referred two more doctors seeking to procure leaked questions from Kulkarni, though their identities have not been made public.
Ongoing investigation
Multiple arrests have already been made across cities including Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nashik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar in connection with the case, with searches at several locations yielding question banks, documents, laptops and mobile phones for forensic examination.
The CBI has said the seized devices will be sent for forensic analysis to recover any deleted data, as the agency continues to piece together the full scope of the network believed to be operating across multiple states.
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