NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: CBI has significantly widened its NEET-UG-2026 paper leak probe, with investigators now focused on a potential “insider role” even as one more suspect was arrested from Pune and a retired chemistry professor detained in Latur.As the total arrests went up to seven, sources said the investigators were trying to ascertain if the breach originated from within the high-security, core chain of custody and access before the May 3 medical entrance exam was cancelled over the leak.CBI sleuths are seeking information from NTA, which conducts NEET, about every stakeholder who had access to the question paper before it was sealed. This includes information about people who set questions and subject experts, professors and teachers who were in the panel that prepared the questions, besides details of the entire process of preparing questions. Separately, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a high-level meeting at his Delhi residence late Thursday with top officials for the fresh NEET test whose dates will be announced subsequently.In Pune, CBI identified the suspect arrested Thursday as Manisha Waghmare, a beauty parlour owner who was picked up from the city’s Sukhsagar Nagar area.Waghmare allegedly acted as an intermediary for Dhananjay, a BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) passout who ran a consultancy in Pune and was among the six arrested Wednesday — three from Jaipur and one each from Gurgaon, and Maharashtra’s Nasik and Ahilya Nagar. Waghmare had allegedly received money from around two dozen bank accounts ahead of the test.CBI said it conducted searches at 14 locations Thursday, the action coming as those arrested were produced in court and sent to seven days’ remand for interrogation. “Several other suspects are being interrogated. More arrests will be made in the coming days. CBI is pursuing all leads,” said an officer.In Latur, the retired chemistry teacher detained by CBI for questioning was from Dayanand Sagar College, officials said. Sources said the individual had access to the entire NEET question paper as part of a translation panel responsible for rendering the paper in Marathi. NEET is conducted in 13 languages, requiring multiple parallel translation workflows under strict confidentiality protocols.Officials declined to disclose the professor’s identity or specify the precise role, citing the sensitivity of the investigation. Latur, long regarded as a coaching hub that draws students from across Maharashtra, has emerged as a focal point in the inquiry. A complaint filed by a parent at the SP’s office two days ago alleged that 42 questions in a mock test conducted by a private coaching institute in the city matched those in the NEET paper.In Rajasthan, investigators suspect Dinesh Biwal, one of the three arrested from the state, is suspected to have scanned the hard copy of the leaked NEET paper and shared it digitally. He allegedly obtained the paper from Gurgaon’s Yash Yadav, another arrested suspect from Gurgaon, for his son and later shared or sold it to other students known to him in Sikar district.In Delhi, where some of the suspects were remanded by a local court, CBI alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the nationwide leak. The agency told the court that custodial interrogation was necessary to apprehend other culprits, recover digital devices and electronic evidence, trace the financial trail and “identify possible officials of NTA” involved in the crime.(Inputs from Dishank Purohit in Jaipur and Koushiki Saha in Delhi)
